Cookies, Cakes and Cigarettes
by Animelover007
Summary: Amai Tachibana wanted a the best out of life. A job she loves, a place to call her own, and a boyfriend. Well, two out of three isn't bad. After all, guys don't usually go for girls stronger than them. All that's left is to find someone stronger than her.
1. Chapter 1:New Life

Everyday I ask myself, 'What will happen today, that will make it so…great?' The reason I ask myself this, is because two years ago, I moved out of the dull and mundane country side I had once called my home, in order to experience more exciting things. Through the three years I was here, I had thought it would be as dull as back then, with only the occasional store robbery in a nearby neighborhood, or a gang fight in a back ally to perk me up.

I first got the idea in a chat room four years ago, one year after I had graduated, but it wasn't really my idea. Online, his screen name was Nakura, and he first invited me out there after I told him about my life. To which he said it was dull and mundane, further insulting my little home in the country. So, after a few minutes of calling him every name in the book and threatening to hang him by his toes, I politely apologized for my rude behavior after I hit a pressure point on my ear to calm me down, and declined his offer, saying I was content where I was.

But of course, when an idea is planted in your head, it tends to grow into a beautiful dream, and pretty soon, that dream became reality. After, of course, continuous pleading and begging my parents. They had soon consented, provided that I can provide for myself in my new life. And so, after two years of saving and endless shifts, day and night, I had earned enough to rent a small apartment for a couple months.

All that was left was packing, traveling, unpacking, and finally, finding a job. Of course, as soon as your done packing the few possessions you have and then taking a train to the bustling city, and then unpacking, it all seems easy when it is done. It's the job hunt that is terrifying. After the first couple interview busts, I thought, _'I can get a job, no worries!'_ After a few days went by with no success, I thought,_ 'I can come back from this, I still have time,'_ And after the first two weeks go by, I thought, _'All hope is lost, why did I come here?'_

By the third week, I was depressed, no job offerings had opened up, and I was lonely. "It'd be embarrassing to just go back to mom and dad. 'See? You're not ready for the outside world,'" I said, pulling my hat lower over my eyes. I thought back to the day I first got this hat. The day before I left for Ikebukuro, my big brother had given me his lucky hat, a red fedora, so that I could have some luck here. But, so far it hadn't brought me any luck.

It was, on that day, I chanced upon a bakery that was on my route back to my apartment. The outside looked worse for wear, from what I could see over the rim of my red fedora, but at that point, I didn't care, I wanted something sweet, something to make me feel better. I opened the door, that squeaked and walked inside. There were a some people inside this ratty place. Four of them looked beyond scary, like pee-your-pants scary, all of whom were wearing blue. And behind the counter, was a grandmotherly old woman, who looked a little scared herself.

When they saw that it was just me, a regular, skinny, 'weak' girl, they went back to hassling the old women. "Listen granny, why not just pay us to…make sure nothing happens to this shop, alright?" said one of the guys, leaning against the counter.

"Yeah, wouldn't want anything to happen here, would ya?" said another one, taking out a bat and hitting a lamp, causing the bulb to shatter, and the shade to bend and snap.

There it was again, the familiar tingle that came with the urge to hurt a bad guy that was causing trouble, but I controlled it, grabbing my earlobe and pinching it between my fingers, feeling the calmness wash over me.

"I-I-I'm sorry, but I d-don't have problems with others," said the old woman, shaking from the previous lamp breaking. One of the guys, who had been stuffing his face with the desserts from the display case, through a cookie on the ground and stomped on it repeatedly.

"I'm surprised you don't! These desserts suck!" he said, laughing as the old woman looked on the verge of tears.

I picked up one of the cookies from the display case closest to me, and took a bite. The sweetness rushing over my tongue, and overwhelming my senses. Whatever cookie the guy had eaten, must have been in the case too long, or, he was simply a dumb ass who didn't appreciate sweets.

"You must be really stupid, not to have taste buds that don't work right," I said, quietly, taking a second bite.

"What did you say? You little runt?" said the guy who had crushed the cookie.

"I said, that you are pretty stupid. These are delicious," I said, taking a third bite, the cookie almost gone.

"You dare say that to the Blue Squares?" he said, smacking the cookie out of my hand. Making it land on the floor.

"Who are the Blue Squares?" I asked, trying to keep my cool, my hand holding only air, where the dessert had once been.

"You don't know us?!" said the one with the bat.

"We're the ones that rule the streets, and call the shots, you little bitch!" said the leader of the small group, the one who had swiped my cookie. I didn't answer, instead reaching for another cookie. He saw that I was ignoring him, and he turned violent, slapping me across the face, causing my to crash to the ground with a thud, my hat landing at his feet.

"If you don't do what we say, we can kill you!" he said, stomping on the fedora. My eyes, widened. The hat, that my precious older brother had given me for good luck before I had left, was being stepped upon by his dirty shoes. That was when he crossed the, when I snapped, and lunged for legs, tripping him and sitting on his chest while I repeatedly hit him, causing his blood to run from his nose and several other places.

I got off his chest, knowing he wouldn't get up any time soon, and grabbed my fedora of the ground, dusting it off, and reshaping it, placing it back on my head. The guy who had originally broken the lamp, swing his bat at me, but I dodged it at the last second, and grabbed the rod of the broken lamp, swinging my own make-shift bat at him, hitting him square in the jaw.

After that, I was convinced that the other two members of the group, were all bark and no bite, after they dragged the other two people out of the shop, swearing revenge or some type of crap. I ignored them while they rushed out of the bakery. I walked over to the counter, setting down the iron rod that used to be a standing lamp. "Sorry about the lamp, I didn't mean to cause so much trouble," I said to the old woman who was still shacking a little. But she eventually calmed down, and asked,

"Do you really like my desserts?"

"Of course! Those guys were stupid, they probably don't have taste buds," I said, looking around the shop. The outside reflected the inside. The place was dusty and dirty, from the floor to the ceiling. There were some tables and chairs, but they looked like they hadn't been used in weeks. "Do you still get business here?" I asked, walking around the shop and trying to peer out of the wide window in the front.

"Yes, but they just order over the phone, or buy already made goods. Kids these days, don't have time for eating either I suppose," she said, scoffing at the thought.

"Maybe if the shop wasn't so in need of repair, they would come in more," I said, looking back over at her. She was a small woman, not as old as I had originally thought, maybe late 50's or so, and she almost came up to my nose. Her graying brown hair was tied into a bun, and she had on a pair of half-moon glasses, like what librarians have.

"I'm getting old, I cant do it by myself, and my kids have there own lives to live," she said, snorting, and walking around the front of the counter to stand in front of me. "I could use an employee around, especially one who can keep those nasty boys out of here." she said, winking at me. I immediately got the hint, but felt the need to ask anyway.

"You'll give me a job?" I asked, my depression being erased.

"If you like. The pay is good if there are costumers here everyday. You can start tomorrow if you like," she said, going back to the counter by the display case.

"Thank you! Thank you miss…" I trailed off when I realized I didn't know her name.

"Yuumi Sakura. But call me Yuumi," she said, smiling and handing me a cookie.

"Thank you Yuumi-san," I said, bowing repeatedly, and running out of the store, back to my apartment. Carefully remembering which direction the bakery was when I came back for work tomorrow. _'Yay a job! And it's working near desserts! Now I'm feeling lucky!' _I thought, rushing into my apartment.

My apartment was small, there was one bedroom and closet, a small living room/dining room, a bathroom with a shower, and a kitchen with a refrigerator, an oven/stove, and a sink. Home was home, and I loved it. I was lucky, it had a few water leaks, but nothing serious, and no mice or rats.

I fixed dinner for myself, and got ready for bed; shower, pj's, you know the drill, and laid in my futon spread out on the floor. The next morning, I got up at quarter to eight, the excitement got me up, the alarm clock didn't. I knew I had a whole day of work to do, so I just decided to go there early. I just decided to dress simply, a t-shirt, a pair of worn out jeans, and a pair of sneakers. Slapping on my hat, I headed out the door to my new job an hour later.

It took an hour to find my way back to the bakery, and when I got to the bakery, I was a little more surprised, truthfully, in the dark, it didn't look that bad, but in the light, I'm surprised no one thought it was closed down. The windows were grimy and barely see through, the outside could use a good paint job too. I walked inside, and looked around the inside. The floor was covered in dust and flour, and there were cobwebs in the corners.

I looked around for Yuumi, but then I heard a lot of banging around in what I supposed was the kitchen. I walked around the counter and went through the door. "Miss Yuumi? Is that you?" I asked, looking around the kitchen. _'Kitchen could use a good clean too,'_ I thought, looking at the foot prints in the thin layer of flour on the floor, and the dirty ovens. I found her by one of the two ovens in the small kitchen, taking out a pan of biscuits.

"Oh, hello dear," she said, turning around and placing the tray on a wood counter top in the middle of the room.

"Hi Miss Yuumi, um, so, what job am I doing?" I asked, walking over to the hot biscuits.

"Hmm, a little bit of everything I suppose, I need help around the old place," she said, swatting my hand when I reached for a biscuit. "Uh uh, you can have a biscuit after you clean the window outside," she said, in a very grandmotherly tone. I smiled, rubbing my hand and walked over to where she pointed, picking up a bucket, a bottle of soap, and an old rag. "By the way, what's your name?" she asked while I was filling up the bucket with hot water, and soap.

"It's Amai Tachibana," I said, taking the bucket outside to wash the window.

Around like eleven or something, I had finished washing the window, and the door, and walked back inside, and into the kitchen. This time, I saw miss Yuumi decorating a cake. "Done?" she asked, looking up from writing something on the cake.

"Yup, what next?" I asked, setting the bucket and rag in the corner.

"Go in the closet over there and take out the broom and dustpan, go sweep the shop." I did as she said, and swept the floor, dumping the contents of the dustpan into the garbage, repeatedly, and going back for the bucket and rag to wash down the walls, and the cobwebs, and again for a mop to wash the floor.

"Place is looking better already," I said to myself, looking around the room, and leaning on the mop. The floors were shiny, the walls were cobweb and dust free. All that was left was the tables and chairs. She came out of the kitchen carrying the pan of now cool biscuits, setting it down on the counter.

"Good job, the place looks better already," she said.

"What next?" I asked, leaning the mop against the wall.

"Could you go down to the hardware store and pick up some cans of paint? I want you to paint the outside of the store," she said, putting the biscuits in the see-trough case under the counter.

"Ok, how many cans? What colors?" I asked.

"Two cans of yellow paint, and one can of pink paint," she said, taking money out of the cash register. She handed me the money, and I headed outside. Problem was, I didn't have a clue where the nearest hardware store was, and I had already gotten myself lost. Oh, what I could do in ten minutes.

_'Ok, it's not like I haven't been in this situation before since I got here, just ask directions,'_ I thought to myself, looking around. But, every time I tried to ask someone, they either ignored me completely, or gave me a look that said _'Get lost!'_.

"Hello! You are new yes?" said a deep voice behind me. I turned and saw a huge guy standing behind me, carrying flyers. "You hungry? Come! Come in to Russia Sushi!" he said, smiling at me.

"Oh, um, I cant. Oh! Um, do you know where the hardware store is?" I asked, a little nervous of this large mans stature. It was a little intimidating.

"Yes, yes, is down street on corner. Now come eat sushi. Will not make you sick," he said, smiling.

"I'll come back after work, thanks mister…" I said, trailing off.

"Simon. See you later, miss…" he said, in turn trailing off, waiting for me to introduce myself.

"I'm Amai Tachibana. Thanks Simon," I said, waving and walking towards the direction he had pointed in.

I got the paint, and walked back the to Russia Sushi to ask the way back to the bakery. When I asked, he pointed down the street in front of me. Three blocks down I saw the faded pink sign of Sakura Bakery. _'Ah, crap, only I could get lost within one mile of my work place. At least I know where my apartment is,'_ I thought, waking back to the store. I put the cans down under the window and went inside to look for brushes. By the time I found them, and by the time I was done repainting the outside of the store, the sun was going down. I went back into the store, discarding the cans in the trash cans.

I didn't see miss Yuumi, so I assumed she was in the kitchen. I grabbed the broom in the corner, and started sweeping the floor. Although, before I could start, a couple people came in asking for the owner. "Miss Yuumi, some people are looking for you," I called.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked, coming out of the kitchen and peering over her glasses.

"Yeah, we heard someone here kicked two of our guys asses. And we wanna teach him a lesson," he said, tapping a baseball bat against his shoulder.

"Now boys, I don't want any trouble," she said, holding up her hands defensively.

"Well you got trouble, now bring out the guy so we can trash him!" said a blond guy with slicked back blond hair, and a toothy smile. I couldn't believe this. First day of work and I have to deal with these guys again? And again with scaring the old lady. So, as I did back in the country and yesterday, I picked up a stick, and swung hard. You see, baseball was my favorite pass time, and the more I played, the better I was at hitting the target and hitting it hard. It eventually became second nature to me to hit what I didn't like with a stick or something.

So when I swung, and nailed that guy in the head with the broom, the familiar rush of dislike and being pissed off at someone, came back. "Don't talk like you own the place." I said, staring down at him while he sat, holding his bruised head.

"You little bitch! Do you know who we are?!" he yelled, looking up at me.

"No, so if you're not here to buy something, then get out, or I'm calling the cops," I said, putting a hand on my hip and holding the bat he was previously holding. He growled at me, but got up and ran out the door, his friend close on his heels.

"Don't think this is over!" he yelled.

"Tch, what ever," I said, going back to sweeping up the floor.

"That was dangerous, Amai! They could have hurt you!" she said, swatting my head with a rolled up newspaper like I was a dog.

"Well they didn't. Besides, I wasn't gonna let them yell at you like that," I said, rubbing my head, and dumping the contents of the dust pan.

"Just don't anything dangerous like that again," she said, letting me go home for the night. She was very contradictory to herself, but I liked the work all the same. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep that promise.

It didn't happen often, maybe once a month, or less, but they always tried to get the jump on me on my home from work at night. Since then, I always carried a collapsible metal bat on my person, you know, for defense. Other than the Blue Squares constant involvement in my private life, things were otherwise normal. Well, as normal as Ikebukuro gets anyway. Working at the bakery was a quiet lifestyle with the occasional dispute between customers about who-knows-whats that I, being the caring person that I am, would interrupt and throw the perpetrators out on the street. When my shift ended and I took the long route home however...that was when I put my guard up and sneaked around every suspicious corner in preparation of an impending attack. But, a year after I started working at the bakery, the attacks stopped altogether. I heard on the streets that the leader of the guys who attacked, the Blue Squares, got arrested, and they eventually fell apart. But, that didn't mean I was going to leave my bat at home. This was Ikebukuro. There are tons of creeps and weirdo's out there. So, after I had been here for two years, I started to hear about more gang activity. Like this new group I'd been hearing about, the Yellow Scarves and the Dollars. All I heard was that there would be more excitement. Yeah, I'm an adrenaline junkie, but, after my mundane life in the country, I wanted something exciting, unexpected. Like the vending machines I sometimes saw flying through the air.

**Okay, first time writing for Shizuo. I hope I get his character right. Just give me your opinions on the story. Please. Like constructive criticism. But don't be harsh. **


	2. Chapter 2:Blond Bartenders and Cats

**Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry this chapter is late, I just had trouble coming up with a good story line. But trouble is over, and here is the chapter! Once again, Happy Valentine's Day ! 3**

"Get out and stay out! The owner has a rule and while it mostly applies to me, it applies to you jerks too! No fighting!" I shouted, throwing them outside and onto the side walk. They hit the side walk hard, and one might have hurt his nose on the hard cement.

"This guy started it! He threw the first punch!" said one of them, the one without the broken nose.

"It takes two to fight, and I wont have you two scaring away our customers," I said, folding my arms across my chest.

"Ha! Amai-chan is so brutal,", "Poor boys didn't even know it was coming, even though she's been doing it for two years," , "It's no wonder she doesn't have a boyfriend yet, she scares them all away," I heard the people inside the shop say behind me, snickering after each sentence. It doesn't matter what they say. It doesn't matter what their opinions of me are. As long as this shop stays open. As long as Yuumi is the owner. I'll stay here, and protect them both, because they helped me when I needed it. This…needy, decrepit shop gave me a job, and Yuumi is the one of the kindest people I've met here.

So, I don't care if every boy I meet says I'm scary. I don't care if the people say I'm brutal to the people who cause such messes. But if one person bad mouths Yuumi or the shop, or if they brake the rules of the shop, I'll bring them down and kick them out faster than they can say 'Dammit Amai!', which is what they usually said. It's not like I don't want a boyfriend, I do. It's just that, boys have too much pride. If a girl is remotely stronger than her boyfriend, it's a bad thing. At least, that's what my brother's girlfriend said when I was 17 and my boyfriend broke up with me after one week. Apparently, boys like girls who are weaker than them, so they can act like the big macho boyfriend. Not the other way around. _'Excuse me for wanting to be strong enough to take care of myself. It's not like I have any real strength. It's just that I can swing a bat hard, and can throw a couple of guys onto the sidewalk in front of the store, and throw a few good punches.' _

Which is why this is my goal. Find a guy that's stronger than I am. But, so far my search has been unsuccessful in the last two years. _'All I find are wimps, losers and posers. Don't I deserve to have a companion to share the rest of my life with?' _I thought dramatically, going back inside the shop to finish taking orders. "Amai! What did I tell you about fighting?" Yuumi asked, coming out of the kitchen. "I wasn't the one fighting. Those two losers were," I said, placing the money from the customer in the cash register, and pointing outside where the two guys were, still picking themselves off the ground.

"Amai, no fighting," she repeated, going back into the kitchen. I yawned, it was almost the end of the day, the time for my shift to end. My shift always ended a few hours earlier than when the store closed in the evening, but that's only because it took me an hour to get back to my apartment. It was two miles away, but there were so many twists and turns, and I was still too fuzzy on the details of the backstreets to find a short cut. That, and the idea of getting jumped in an alley wasn't too appealing to me.

The lucky thing was, was the disappearance of the Blue Squares. don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the disappearance of my monthly attackers, but I miss the excitement. Which brings me to the flying vending machines. Ever since I first saw them flying threw the air, I've been trying to find out why that is. But, whenever I ask people about it, they just tell me to run in the opposite direction, or leave it alone. Some people just look at me funny, like I've been living under a rock for the last decade. _'I guess some mysteries are better left unsolved._' I thought, thinking back on the last two years of my fruitless search.

My shift ended, I gathered what few things I brought with me to work, basically, my wallet, my bat, (collapsible metal stick, but bat for short), and my jacket. "I'm leaving for the night Miss Yuumi," I called into the shop while I stood in the doorway of the building.

"Alright, take care!" she called from the kitchen. I let the door close behind me as I stepped into the cool air. _'Six p.m. and it's already this dark._' I thought, looking at where the sun should've been if the buildings weren't in the way.

"Should I get some sushi? Or should I go home and make myself dinner?" I said out loud while stretching and yawning, causing a few people to glance towards me. "No, I'm too tired to cook. I'll just stop by Russia Sushi," I said out loud again.

"Russia Sushi! Wont make you sick!" said a deep voice from down the street where I was walking.

"Hey Simon. Got room for one person?" I asked as I walked towards him.

"Hello Amai! Please come in! Always room for friend!" he said, his voice booming again. Suddenly it hit me. If I couldn't find the person throwing the vending machines after two years, then Simon had to know who it was. After all, he's lived here longer than I have, and he's outside all the time.

_'He might know who it is,'_ I thought, following Simon inside the restaurant. "Hey Simon. You know a lot of people in Ikebukuro right?" I asked, sitting on a stool.

"Oh yes! Know many people. Always come in for sushi," he said, handing me a menu.

"Do you know who it is throwing the vending machines?" I asked, glancing over the…appetizing selections.

"Yes, Yes! That Shi-" he began to say before his boss interrupted him.

"Hey Simon, I need you to deliver some sushi," he said, handing him a portable box.

"Tell you later Miss Amai," Simon said, smiling and ruffling the top of my head before leaving.

"Dammit Dennis! I was this close to finding out who it was who threw the vending machines!" I said pinching my fingers close together to emphasize how close I was.

"Ha ha, how long have you lived here?" he asked, setting a plate of sushi in front of me.

"Two years." I said sulkily, already knowing where he was going.

"You've been here two years, and you don't even know?" a smooth voice besides me said, stopping Dennis from talking.

"What's it to ya?" I asked, annoyed that another person was going to join the wagon in making fun of me.

"Tell me, where are you from, I haven't seen you around here before," he said, blatantly ignoring my question. My eyes narrowed as I looked at him. His hair was straight black, and he had blood-red eyes. His entire expression reminded me of a wolf about to devour a help-less lamb.

"Tch, now who's the one who doesn't know anything?" I asked sarcastically, going back to eating my sushi.

"Ha ha, touché Amai-chan." he said, eating his own sushi.

I froze. _'How the hell does he know my name?!'_ I thought, looking at him from the corner of my eye. He just kept smiling, or rather smirking, and ate his sushi. "How did you…" I started to ask, before trailing off.

"I know a lot of people in the city Amai-chan. Even someone who's still new to the city," he said, smirking his wolfish grin. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Izaya Orihara. I'm an information broker. I know everything and everyone, so if there's anything you want to know, I can sell you the information," he said holding out his hand for me to shake.

"If you know everyone, then tell me who it is who throws the vending machines?" I asked, still suspicious of him.

"Why are you so interested in him?" he asked, retracting his hand, his smirk turning down slightly at the edges.

"Personal reason. So who is it?" I asked, finishing my last bit of sushi.

"That exact same reason is why I'm not going to tell you. But you can ask me about anything else," he said, eating another piece of sushi.

"What's the point of asking anything but the one question I want an answer to!" I shouted, springing up from my seat and clenching my hands into fists.

"Hey, hey, Amai calm down, remember, you're still paying for the last thing you broke in here," Dennis said, trying to calm me down. My hand twitched open and slowly made its way to my ear lobe, pinching it and erasing the anger completely.

"Sorry Dennis. Tell Simon to tell me later what I wanted to know. I'm going home," I said, paying him and leaving after giving a sharp glare at the red-eyed man.

"Just so you know. The person you're looking for has the same personality as a rabid dog," he called, raising his hand in a mock wave goodbye.

"Shut up you know-nothing informant!" I shouted, slamming the door harder than anticipated. The glass in the window cracked, causing a long line, about three feet long, to divide the glass in the door. "Aw. Dammit!" I shouted again, slapping my forehead in frustration.

"Amai! You're paying for that!" Dennis called from inside. Usually Dennis is good natured, and the last time I broke a window by accident, he took it pretty well. Now? Not so much. After pressing my pressure point, I said,

"Sorry Dennis. I'll pay for the window when I get my next check. Ok?"

He gave me a look, but just sighed, knowing I was true to my word. "Alright, but one more time, and your banned for a month." he said good-naturedly.

"Say Amai-chan, why are you so nice all of a sudden? Are you bipolar?" Izaya said in that smooth, irritating voice of his, smirking before eating another piece of fatty tuna. Scowling, I punched my hands into fists, and walked away before I could hit him.

_'Why does everyone assume I'm bipolar?'_ I thought on the way back to my apartment.

Half-way home, I heard a distant crash. I looked up and saw a vending machine dropping back to the ground. Right near Russia Sushi. "Dammit! I was just there!" I yelled out loud, stomping my foot like a spoiled eight-year-old who didn't get what they wanted. Unconsciously, I looked around to make sure no body saw my sudden out burst, thankfully, the only body there was a black and white cat, staring at me curiously. We kept staring at each other for awhile, until the cat got up and walked towards me.

"Well, you're a friendly stray," I said aloud, as the cat rubbed itself against me leg and began to purr. "What do you say little guy? Wanna go home with me? I could use some company at home," I said to him, bending down to scratch its ears. He purred again and leaned his head against my hand. "Alright, come on, lets go home," I said to him, picking him up. '_Ugh, I must be desperate to pick up a random stray I found off the streets,' _I thought, rubbing the cats ears as I walked up the old metal stairs in my apartment building.

"You know, if you want, I'll let you keep eating mice and rats. Then I wont have to worry anymore if they're eating my food," I said to him, unlocking my door, and stepping inside. "I didn't use to have vermin in here, but I think they might have migrated from next door," I said, inwardly cringing. I didn't have that much of a problem with rats, because since my parents owned a dairy farm, rats were a common thing in the barn. Still, I didn't like the idea of actually living next to them.

I let the cat jump from my arms and go after a mouse in the corner. "Enjoy your dinner," I said to him, while he chased the mouse around the sofa. _'Name. Name. what would be a good name for him?'_ I thought, watching his tail twitch in the air. '_For one thing, I should start calling him a her,'_ I thought, confused as too how I could possible mistake her for a boy. _'You work with animals for the whole of your life, and you cant even tell the gender of a stray cat after an hour?' _I thought, thinking of names suitable for a _girl_ cat. The more I stared at her, the more I thought of how the black and white of her fur reminded me of one of my families dairy cows.

"You know, you remind me of a cow. I'm gonna call you Moo-Moo. That sound all right?" I asked her, pouring water into a tea kettle and putting it on the stove to boil. She looked up from her finished meal, meowed, and jumped on the couch, and licked her paws. "Moo-Moo it is then. I'll take you to the vet tomorrow then. And get some real cat food," I said, grimacing at the remnants of her dinner. I cleaned up her mess, and, after washing my hands thoroughly, got into my pajamas, and went to bed, Moo-Moo curled up next to my futon. Then it dawned on me. "You know, I really hope you don't have fleas," I said to her before falling asleep after awhile.

The next day, I woke up a little later, but still early enough in the morning that people were still leaving for work, and the kids were starting class. After a few hours of lazing around my apartment, and eating breakfast, I got dressed, grabbed my keys, wallet, cell phone and bat, and headed out the door carrying the cat and headed for the veterinary clinic a few blocks from here. Once there, I had the vet check here out and give her shots. The vet said Moo-Moo was in perfect condition for a stray, and the only thing that was wrong, was that she was too skinny, and needed a bath. I paid the medical fees, and started to walk back home to drop her off so I could go to the pet store. But, halfway home, Yuumi called me.

"Hey Yuumi, what's up?" I asked, adjusting the cat in my arms so I could talk on my cell phone.

_"Amai, can you come in today? I'm swamped with orders, and there are too many people coming in for me to handle alone,"_ she said, sounding a bit stressed. In the background, I could hear the people talking, and getting upset with waiting.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right there, I just have to drop my cat off at my apartment first," I said, walking a bit faster.

_"You got a cat?"_ she asked, all traces of stress gone, replaced with surprise.

"Yeah, I just got yesterday. I picked her off of the streets, and brought her home," I said, glancing at the top of Moo-Moo's head.

_"A stray?"_ she asked again, sighing a bit.

"Well…I need the companionship at home, I've been alone too long," I said, trying to explain.

_"Oh hunny,"_ Yuumi said, I could practically picture her shaking her head in utter sympathy.

"Yuumi, I am not crazy, and I am not going to turn into an old spinster who has like thirty cats living with her!" I shouted into the phone, overly upset.

_"Amai, you really should look for a boyfriend,"_ she sighed.

"I know! But where do I look?" I fake cried. Well, maybe not fake. "Huh, anyway, I'll be over there ASAP," I said, hanging up after a short goodbye.

An hour or so later, I pushed and shoved people to get to my spot behind the counter. '_Why was today so important? Why were all these people here? It's never this busy. Well, last yeah it was this busy, but that's only because…'_ I thought, trailing off as I slowly realized what today was. "Hey Yuumi, please tell me today is not Valentines' day," I said, shouting into the kitchen, silently hoping I was wrong.

"Of course it is, why do you think I'm swamped with orders?" she yelled back. I silently wept, laying my head on the glass counter.

_'Another Valentines' day alone,'_ I thought pitifully.

"H-hello, miss? M-may we order?" asked a timid voice in front of my.

"Oh, yeah sorry. What would like?" I asked, putting on a smile, and looking at the two boys in front of me.

They were both high school kids by the look of their uniforms. One had short black hair, blue eyes, and looked shy, timid, and a little scared all at the same time. The other looked like a delinquent. The total opposite of his friend. He had dirty blond hair, obviously died since it wasn't a natural hair color here, pierced ears and light brownish eyes. "I would like some rolls and your phone number please," the blond said, smirking a bit while the black-haired kid fidgeted a little, and said,

"Masaomi! You said you weren't going to flirt with her today!"

Yes, these kids have been here before, and yes, this same high school kid has flirted with me before. So, as I always did when he said these exact same things, I got what he wanted, the buns mind you, and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling him practically over the counter so he was close to me. "Masaomi, what's the answer I give you every time you ask me that question?" I asked, my voice low and dangerous.

"'I don't date high school kids'?" he said, he wasn't scared like his friend, which just proved how much he was used to this routine.

"Exactly. Mikado, do you want anything?" I asked, placing Masaomi back on the ground.

"S-s-s-same," he stuttered, shaking a little, and wide-eyed.

"All right, that'll be six twenty-fi-" I said, getting interrupted by a loud crashing sound inside the store. The people nearest to the where the window was had moved, quickly getting out of the way of the middle-aged man flying through the glass, causing the whole thing to shatter, and fall to the ground around him.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH THAT LAME ASS EXCUSE!" shouted a rough voice from outside.

"What the hell?" I asked myself. Picking my way thought the crowd of people. I got to the front and looked down at the man crumpled on the ground, bleeding from various cuts form the broken glass. He sat up a moment later, and gasped, crawling backwards.

"I-I-I mean, I j-just need a little more t-time," he said, bumping into my legs. I looked up to see who he was speaking to, and realized a few things. One, this guy just flew threw the window. Two, the window, that used to be in front of the store, was now shattered to pieces. And three, the only reason this man flew through the window, was because of some blond bartender, and a dreadlock guy.

"You broke…the window," I said slowly, as if trying to confirm it for myself.

"Aw, damn Shizuo. You didn't have to throw him through a window," the dreadlock guy said, folding his arms across his chest.

"You broke the window…by throwing some guy into it," I said, elaborating on how it happened.

"He just gave a lame ass excuse and it bugged," the blond named Shizuo said roughly, taking out a cigarette and lit it.

"You broke the window…because you were mad at this guy…because he gave a lame excuse?" I asked him, my face and voice darkening with each word. They both looked up from the cowering man to look at me, saying nothing. I gabbed the cowering man, who was sitting at my feet looking at the two men outside, by the collar of his pathetic excuse of a jacket, and dragged him to his feet and proceeded to drag the man outside.

"This shop has one rule," I said slowly, addressing the blonde bartender, as I dragged the now whimpering man outside to stand on the sidewalk, no more than ten feet away from the two standing in front of the broken window, where a large number of people had gathered inside to see what I would do, including the two high school boys.

"And that rule," I said, tightening my grip on the collar of the middle-aged mans jacket, and reaching behind him to grasp the middle. "Is NO FIGHTING!" I shouted, spinning the man several times around fast, and letting him go, tossing him directly at the bartender. I saw that the action briefly surprised him, before another emotion took over completely. Anger. In the split second after I let go of the middle-aged man, the bartender took his cigarette out of his mouth, bent it in half, crushed it beneath his shoe, and hit the guy square in the face so hard that he flew clear down the block and then some. The sheer ferocity and strength of him fazed me for a moment before the memory that he broke the large window in the front of the shop.

"We weren't fighting kid!" he shouted stalking towards me, his anger waning until it turned into an annoyed grimace, his hands thrust into his pockets.

_'Bet he got all his anger out on the guy he sent flying.'_ I thought, getting into a defensive position with my hands curled into fists in front of my face. "Doesn't matter, you hurt someone by throwing them through a window, that happened to be the shop's front window. And by the way. Who the hell is going to pay for that?!" I shouted at him while pointing to the empty space.

"Kid would you stop shouting! It's freaking annoying!" he said, taking his hand out of his pocket and letting it drop to his side, clenching into a tighter fist, as if that was possible.

_'He's getting angry again, and it looks like this guy can do some real damage when he's angry,'_ I thought, seeing his teeth clench, and his eyes tighten. Quickly, I shot my hand out and reached up to pinch his earlobe between my fingers. _'Damn this guy's tall. I barely reach up to his shoulders,'_ I thought, waiting for him to calm down. When he did, the change was visible. His entire expression relaxed, his hand unclenched and dropped to his side lazily, as did the hand in his pocket. His eyes, which had widened at the sudden action, became half-lidded, and didn't look tight with stress or anger anymore.

His face was relaxed, and he looked at me curiously for a few seconds behind his blue-tinted sunglasses before his eyes tightened again in irritation. He turned away from me, suddenly making me release my grasp on his ear, and muttered something about kids being too strange these days. My face flushed with slight irritation, and I puffed up my cheeks before shouting, "I'm not freaking kid you giant! I'll have you know I'm 23! And who's going to pay for the damn window!"

'_Stupid bartender,' _I thought, going back into the store with the dreadlock guy trailing behind me sighing, leaving the bartender to stand outside, still irritable, and smoking a cigarette. '_And he smokes! That's it! I officially hate him!'_


	3. Chapter 3:Two of Three Stooges

"Amai! Do you have _any_ idea who that was?!" Yuumi shouted in my ear after the dreadlock and bartender guy walked away after the first guy grudgingly paid for the damages.

"A jack-ass with a huge temper?" I guessed, sweeping up the broken glass. Yuumi sighed and went to the kitchen to call a glass repair shop, mumbling something about common-sense.

"Amai-chan, that was Shizuo Heiwajima," Mikado said, holding the dust pan for me while I swept the glass up.

"And that would be…?" I said, trailing off for them to answer while Mikado stood up to throw the glass away.

"'Strongest man in Ikebukuro' doesn't ring a bell? And anyway, that was a pretty risky move you did. And by risky, I mean stupid," Masaomi said through a mouth full of bread.

"Tch, 'strongest man', whatever. I've never heard of him, and sure as hell I never want to see him again," I said, sweeping the remaining glass up, and throwing it away. After the dreadlock guy followed me inside the store, everyone who had previously been inside, began to rush out like mad cows, saying something about 'saving their own skins'. Leaving a stunned Mikado and Masaomi alone in the store, staring at the street where I had previously thrown a man at the bartender guy.

"I'm just glad that you didn't get hurt Amai-chan," Mikado said, adjusting the strap of his bag.

"I can take care of myself. Besides, it's not like I'll be seeing him any time soon right? Anyway, you two should get back to school, lunch is almost over right?" I said, holding the door open for them.

"Ah! That's right! Lunch ends soon. Come on Masaomi. Good-bye Amai-chan," Mikado said, rushing out the door, not even bothering to wait for Masaomi.

"Are you staying or going Masaomi?" I asked, wiping the counter clean of bread and cookie crumbs. He was standing by the door, looking at me. He looked like he wanted to tell me something, so I left him alone for a few seconds to let him collect his thoughts. Finally, he said,

"You should stay away from him Amai, he's bad news. He's unpredictable, and you could get seriously hurt," he sounded so serious, it made me laugh a bit.

"Hey, where'd the flirty, care-free teenager go? Seriously, what's with you being serious?" I asked, leaning my elbows on the counter and laying my head in my hands.

"I'm serious. If you see him again, don't hesitate to run. I know you're strong, but this guy is stronger than you can possibly imagine," he said, turning towards the door. "And stay away from Izaya Orihara. You don't ant to get mixed up with him. You'll regret it." he said, still facing away from me.

"Orihara? That know-nothing informant? Tch, Masaomi, you need to relax more. You're starting to remind me of Miss Yuumi," I said, pushing him out the door with the end of a broom, just hard enough to get him onto the sidewalk, but still making him stumble a few feet.

He turned back and looked at me astonished, but then we heard the school's bell ring for lunch break to be over, and he left soon after. Masaomi was always a strange kid, and it's not surprising that he could have duel personalities, the happy flirty side, and the dark and dangerous street punk side. The first time I ever met him, he was just some street punk, flirting with girls and getting into fights, but all that changed when the Blue Squares disappeared, and the Yellow Scarves went leader-less. Even so, Masaomi changed even more when Mikado came here a few months ago. Mikado's a good kid, but he get's scared to easily in my opinion.

I thought about what Masaomi said for a few minutes, deciding that he was probably right, after all, I've been here two years, and I don't know anything or anyone that I should avoid. Well, besides that loser informant. And now the bartender guy. _'Tch, Masaomi doesn't have to worry about me fighting that guy. If there's two things I hate, it's annoying people and smokers,'_ I thought, going into the kitchen to tear up a few boxes to cover the window.

After the window-less window was covered in cardboard, duct tape, and a few pieces of plywood just for extra security, although I don't know who would steal from a bakery, I went back inside and finished my shift. "Miss Yuumi, I'm going now," I called to her from the door. I heard a some banging around in the kitchen and heard a brief, "Be careful!" before I left.

The air was cold, and the sun had long since set, but it didn't have any effect on the people who were milling about noisily. I smiled to myself, thinking again of how much I loved being here, despite the few difficulties that came with it. Along the way back, I stopped at a pet store and picked up some regular cat food, a collar, and a kitty litter box. When I saw it, I was thankful that I left the window leading to the sorry excuse of a fire escape open. Another half hour later and I was back at my apartment. I looked around inside and saw Moo-Moo sleeping on top of my fridge. A strange place to sleep for a cat, but I've seen stranger.

"Moo-Moo, I'm back. Did you kill any vermin?" I asked her, looking around for any dead mice or rats. Moo-Moo meowed in response, leaping from the top of the fridge to the table, and then onto the floor. She started purring and rubbing up against, begging for a scratch behind her ear. "Ha ha, good kitty. You must have been hungry for a while, couldn't catch any rats?" I asked her, looking around at my somewhat clean apartment. While I was a relatively clean person, the apartment was forever stained with water spots on the ceiling, which seemed to be getting bigger, but who knows, and what I could only hope was water stains on the walls and carpet.

I bent down to scratch her ears and she ended up turning her head around my hand and rolled onto her back, trying to get me to scratch her stomach. I laughed her for a moment before I noticed that her stomach was slightly extended than it was from yesterday. "So you have been eating. Question is, what did you eat?" I asked, half to her and half to myself. Almost as if on cue, I heard a scream from next door. "What the hell?" I said, opening the front door and peeking out of my apartment at the one next door where I heard the scream.

There was another scream from inside, and the person ran through their door, instantly spotting me, the only person dumb enough to check what was going on, and yelled at me, saying, "Are you the one who did this?!" I looked at him, who was still in his night gown, confused and said,

"Did what?" Moo-Moo walked out and sat next to me in the hallway where the drag queen was pointing his extremely long finger nail at me accusingly.

My neighbor, Mr. Takazawa, or as he was now called, Taka-chan, is my next door neighbor, a cross dresser who was not above getting into cat fights, who worked at some weird bar downtown. A bar I would never in my life go there because "Taka-chan" scares the hell out of me. In some ways, he was better than my other two neighbors. "Taka-chan" was to the right of my small apartment. I have two other neighbors, one, an ex-yakuza pervert named Oro Mitsukanei, lived across from me, the other, well, she hates my guts.

Anyway, for a cross dressing guy, he could pull it off pretty well. Well, when he had time to shave and do his makeup. "You purposefully set that…that animal loose in my apartment! Look what it did!" he said grabbing my arm roughly and pulling me inside his apartment, Moo-Moo following us in.

"Look! Look what that cat did!" he said letting go of my arm.

"You know, for a guy, you have really sharp nails," I said, rubbing the spot on my arm where his nails dug in. I looked around the apartment and found what he was yelling about. Moo-Moo had been hungry. So she must have climbed out the window and into Mr. Takazawa's apartment and eaten whatever vermin was in here.

"I don't see what the big deal was, Moo-Moo got rid of your pest problem," I said, stepping away from the mess.

"Well that's all fine and dandy but I don't want the aftermath on my floor! Now clean it up, I have to get ready for work," he said, flicking his long hair over his shoulder and stalking off towards the bathroom.

"Don't mind him Moo-Moo, he's just cranky when he wakes up," I said, scooping up one of the leftovers and throwing them outside into the alley. Half an hour of kitty clean-up later, Taka-chan came out, primped and groomed in a flashy shirt and long black skirt, with his long black hair tied up in a pony tail. I'm sorta glad that Taka-chan had a girlish face, otherwise the whole getup on a regular guy would look creepy.

"Done cleaning?" he asked, putting in a pair of turquoise colored earrings.

"Yeah, sorry for the mess, I just got Moo-Moo yesterday and I didn't have any cat food until now. So I just let her eat the rats in my apartment for the time being," I said, rubbing my neck sheepishly.

"Couldn't she get sick that way?" he asked, peering down at Moo-Moo questioningly.

"I had her checked this morning," I said, picking her up from licking her paws. "She's as clean as this apartment," I said, scratching her behind her ear. It wasn't sarcasm or a joke. For a run-down, rat-infested apartment complex, this was one of the cleanest apartments here. So Taka-chan lucked out big time.

"Right, anyway I'm late for my shift. Thanks for cleaning up, Amai-chan," he said, walking me out of his apartment and locking the door.

"See ya, Taka-chan." I said, waving at his receding back. I turned and went back inside my apartment. But before I made it to my door, he called back to me,

"And sweetie, for Pete's sake, get a boy friend soon. I'd hate to see a pretty face like yours get wasted on a cat,"

"You know, it's not like I have a dozen cats in my apartment, it's just the one!" I shouted at him, raising a fist threateningly. He laughed and continued down stairs. _'Although, he is right, I really need a boyfriend. Someone's who's sexy and nice, and doesn't get intimidated by strength,' _I thought, even though I knew it was probably hopeless.

"You know he's right. You do need a guy. Then you get to do a lot of…fun stuff," said a sickly sweet voice behind me. I turned and found my neighbor on the left side of my apartment leaning against her door. A lit cigarette between her fingers, and a large white dress shirt, that looked like it belonged to a man, hung loosely around her shoulders, revealing a lacy black bra and underwear.

Her name is Kimi Monowa. She's an 'escort', otherwise known as a prostitute, who lives next to me. I have nothing against her as a prostitute, I just wish she wouldn't bring her clients, or otherwise, back to her apartment, but they're probably cheap bastards who wont pay for a motel room. "The 'fun stuff' you talk about is just an added bonus to being in a relationship. Once I find the perfect guy, then I can experience that type of 'fun'," I said in a bored tone, using air quotes around 'fun'.

"You act like you don't like it, but once you get a taste, you get addicted," she said, getting close to my face while taking a long drag off of her cigarette and blowing it in face before she turned and went back inside her apartment. I coughed, waving a hand in front of my face to clear the smoke away from me.

"Oh yeah, and Kimi? Next time go to a motel or something! I'm tired of going to sleep listening to you two doing it and waking up to you two doing it! It's gross!" I shouted at her, even though she had already closed her door. The reasons why I hate her, is because of two things. One, she's a smoker. And two, she's really bitchy towards me and I don't know why. I waited in the hallway for a few minutes, cooling down my temper. I heard Moo-Moo meow next to me, and opened my apartment door for her and went inside after her.

The rest of the evening went by fast, with me setting up the litter box, feeding Moo-Moo and myself dinner, and chasing her around the apartment trying to get her collar on. Later on in the night, when I was about to go to sleep, I saw several more vending machines and convenience store trash cans sailing through the air. Because I had to come into work today on my day off, Yuumi said I could take tomorrow off. So, tomorrow, I'm going to walk around Ikebukuro to try and catch whoever was throwing the vending machines.

~No One's POV~

_In the chat room~_

Kanra: Hey guys, did you hear?! The bakery girl took on Shizuo Heiwajima!

Setton: !

TarouTanaka: Bakery girl? You mean Amai Tachibana?

Kanra: Yeah! That's the girl, the one they call 'the Bipolar Fireball'.

Setton: 'Bipolar Fireball'?

Kanra: Yeah. One minute, she's calm and nice, and the next minute, she's punching guys out and throwing them on the sidewalk.

Setton: Oh! I've seen her. Your right, I remember riding my bike by that store. She threw a guy from the door onto the street and I almost ran over him.

Setton: She yelled at me and said to watch where I was going.

TarouTanaka: Yeah, that sounds like her.

Kanra: You sound like you know her Tanaka-san.

TarouTanaka: Yeah, she's kind of like a friend of mine. I guess.

Setton: Anyway, what happened with her and Shizuo?!

TarouTanaka: He threw a guy through the bakery's window and it really pissed her off.

TarouTanaka: She picked up the guy and threw him at her and he punched him clear across the block!

Setton: What did he do?! Did they fight?!

TarouTanaka: well, it looked like they were going to fight, but…

Setton: But what?! What happened?!

Kanra: Ha ha. You seem eager Setton-san.

Setton: I just want to know if she got hurt or not.

TarouTanaka: Well, it's not like he hits girls, right? But anyway.

TarouTanaka: He looked like he was going to tell her off or something do violent, but she did something to his ear, and he calmed down.

Setton: His ear? What'd she do?

TarouTanaka: She pinched it or something. I don't know, I didn't really get a close look.

Setton: And he stopped being angry? That's unusual. Anyway, I got a job to do, gotta go.

TarouTanaka: Goodnight!

Kanra: See ya.

~Setton has left the chat room~

TarouTanaka: well, I gotta go too. 'Night!

Kanra: Aw~ leaving already? T_T

~TarouTanaka has left the chat room~

Kanra: Well fine. Besides, I have to meet with someone anyway. I wonder what type of expression you'll make Rio Kamichika-chan.

~Kanra has left the chat room~

~There is currently no one in the chat room~


	4. Chapter 4:A New Acquaintance

**I'm sorry for the late update. Between plot points and story lines I've been trying to keep straight, I'm also trying to come up with ideas. So, hopefully the next update won't take more than a month. Well, fingers crossed. And I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Oh, and conversion for yen to dollar if you don't already know. 100 yen equals 1 dollar.**

"Hello Amai! You come in for sushi, yes?" Simon said, handing me a flyer.

"Um, yeah, sure, I guess I could," I said, letting him push me through the door and into the restaurant. To tell the truth, I was planning to ask him about a few things. One being the guy who throws the trashcans and the vending machines. And two, anything he knows about that Shizuo bartender guy. Not like I'm interested in him or anything, I just want to know what his problem is.

I woke up late this morning because Yuumi promised me today off after I had to go in for Valentine's day yesterday. What a day that was. Sadly, Mr. bartender throwing a guy threw the window was the high point of the day. Talk about a let-down. I spent the _entire_ day today looking through every street, back-ally, and danger zone, A.K.A. gang territory, looking for any sign of unusual activity. But I ended up getting chased by a few gang members. I might be able to hurl a guy one block away, and hit with enough force to knock a guy out, when it comes to me, a bat and something I'm hitting, but when it comes to a couple of guys pointing a gun at you and screaming to _'get the hell outta here, bitch!'_, you have to turn tail and run.

'_Overall, I just want this day to be over,'_ I thought, sitting at one of the stools and looking over the menu. I looked over the top of my menu and checked to see if Simon had followed me in or not. He did, but he was busy talking to an estranged middle-aged costumer who looked on the verge of crying, and his friend, who looked equally frazzled. Simon left them after serving them something that was probably chicken. Well, something that didn't belong in a sushi shop anyway.

"Man, I thought he was going to kill me for sure!" said the guy who looked like he was going to cry.

"How much did you borrow this time?" his friend asked before taking a drink of sake.

_'A bit early to be drinking. Must have had a rough time.'_ I thought, looking at the clock. It was eight o'clock. _'Ok, maybe not early. Really have to get a watch.'_

"I think I took two-hundred thousand Yen. But I blew it all at the track, and they're interest rates are too high," he said, taking a long swig off the bottle of sake.

"Jinnai, just be glad you got off with getting hit halfway across the city. But you must've seen it coming, that Shizuo guy doesn't take lame-ass excuses, especially ones that include 'I thought I was on a hot streak'. Come on man, what were you thinking," the friend said, poking at one of the pieces of sushi with a chop stick and a disgusted face.

"You know who's fault it really is? That bakery girl. Ama…Amin…Am-something," the person named Jinnai slurred, already feeling the effects of the sake after multiple drinks off the bottle. "Sh-she just had to go and fight him, and then make him so pissed off today," he said, taking a longer drink of the alcohol this time.

'_Make HIM pissed off?! That jackass pissed me off first be throwing a guy through the freaking window! My reaction was justified!'_ I thought, overhearing their conversation since the drunks were speaking so loudly. I'm actually surprised that Dennis hasn't thrown them out yet.

"Yeah, yo-you know what? Someone should teach her a lesson. Yeah, 'cause she's always throwing people out of that damn bakery of hers, and they never do nothing!" the friend said, jabbing a finger on the counter. By this time, I'd already had enough of these drunkards conversation.

I was mad, but I was too tired of running around the city to do anything. And besides, Dennis's threat still stands. If I break anything in here one more time, he'll ban me for a month. And since this is one of the few restaurants that'll let me in, I can't let that happen.

'_Okay, just talk to Simon and then you can go., _I thought, bargaining with myself, sighing inwardly, trying not to lose my cool.

"Hey Simon? Can I ask you something?" I asked when he put down a plate of fatty tuna and yellow tail.

"Yes, ask anything! Anything at all! More sushi?" he asked placing another plate next to the first one.

"Uh, what do you know about the bartender guy? Um…Shi-something," I said, eating one of the tuna pieces.

"Oh Shizuo! Yes comes in here often. Good customer, but get in fight too often. Fighting is bad. Makes you hungry, not good when stomach is hungry," he said, walking away to talk to another customer. I'm pretty sure that somewhere in my mind, I knew this would be the response I would get from Simon, since he _is _one of the vaguest people I know. But still, my mood dropped ten degrees, and I wasn't sure if I could stand to listen to the drunkards next to me any longer.

"Yeah, yo-you know what she did yesterday? Sh-she threw a guy out of that place just 'cause he went through the window. An-and it weren't even his fault! It was that Shizuo's fault," he said, tipping the bottle over when it produced no more of the alcoholic beverage. They got another bottle of sake, and pretty soon, they weren't venting about random crap anymore, they were laughing at practically nothing, which made them easier to handle, but was still annoying. After an hour of listening to it, I decided to just pay my bill and leave. But, before I could do that, they started talking again. Not surprisingly, about me.

"Ya know what her real pr-problem is? Is she's short -temp-perd, and a brat, and that's the reason she cant find a boyfriend. I wouldn't put it past her to even have friends! Ha ha ha!" he said, laughing like an idiot. I might have the shortest freaking temper, but that doesn't mean I'm an emotionless robot. I'm still a girl. A girl with relationship issues. But, as much as I wanted to kick those two bastards' asses, I already promised Dennis I wouldn't cause trouble in his shop anymore. So, instead of kicking their asses like I wanted to, I slammed down my money and walked out of the shop.

I began walking home, with my stomach feeling like it might puke. Too much over emotion, and not enough venting out my anger always did this to me. It wasn't a major health problem, I've already seen a doctor about it when I was in high school, and my emotions started hitting an all time high. He said that it's a result of my constant anger issues. He gave me two options for getting rid of the stomach aches. One, vent out the anger, which I've been doing since then. Or two, control my angry, which, of course, I have been doing since then.

He didn't give me a third option, but I already knew there was. And that option was just being happy. Truth be told, what I really want besides a boy friend, is just a friend. Yuumi is a boss and a friend, although she's more of a motherly/grandmotherly figure. Simon looks out for me, and calms me down when I've lost the patience to do it myself, I guess he's sort of my friend. And Mikado and Masaomi, I'm not really sure about them. I think of them more as two younger brothers than I do my friends. But I already have more than enough brothers at home to last me a life time.

In my reverie, I wasn't watching where I was going on the busy street, just walking along clutching my sick stomach while the people around me avoided me, thinking I might puke up my dinner. I ended up plowing into someone, which resulted in us falling onto the concrete sidewalk. If I didn't feel good before, then having a sore jaw and a bruised stomach that already felt sick didn't help make it better.

I opened my eyes which had closed in pain when the person I had bumped into had smashed the top of their head into my jaw. Laying on top of me was a teenager. A high school girl with light brown hair tied up with flower ties in two slightly wavy pigtails, brown eyes, wearing what looked like a white jacket.

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going," she said quickly getting off of me.

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't watching where I was going either," I said, getting up, picking my hat up off the concrete and rubbing my jaw.

"Are you alright?" she asked, inquiring towards my hand that was still rubbing my jaw.

"Yeah, I'll be better after I go to sleep. Hey kid, what's your name?" I asked, wondering what a high school kid was doing out at this hour.

"Rio Kamichika." she said.

"Kamichika-san? I'm Amai Tachibana, and yes, I'm also the 'Bipolar Fireball' but I'm not going to hurt you so stop with the look," I said, when I saw her take a small step back when I told her my name. "Besides, I only hurt delinquents who piss me off or cause trouble at the shop. And speaking of delinquents, why the hell is a _high school girl_ out this late? Do you have any idea how many gang members and weirdo's there are here?" I said, a little irritated.

"I'm just meeting someone," she said, walking around me. I grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.

"Do you mind if I tag along? Just to make sure you get to your destination all safe and sound," I said, looking her in the eye with all the seriousness I could muster. She stared back, a little shocked and confused at my request.

"Um, why?" she asked, looking at me questionably.

"Call it being overly cautious, but letting a _high-school girl_ walk around _alone_ on a _school night_, when there are plenty of _dangerous people _around here, doesn't look all that good to me," I said, emphasizing each point enough to make her understand where I was coming from.

"A-alright," she said a little hesitantly. I let go of her arm and we walked side-by-side down the busy street. After a while the silence between us got a little awkward. I wasn't sure if it was the lack of conversation or the fact that I forced her to let me come along, but it was pretty uncomfortable.

"Say Kamichika-san, what kind of friend are you meeting?" I asked, hoping to lighten up the atmosphere a bit.

"Well, I'm not really sure, but he's kind of in the same position as me, and…well…we're supposed to be doing this thing tonight," she said, looking away from the ground and away from me.

"What thing?" I asked, wondering what could be so important as to meet at almost ten' O'clock at night. She didn't answer, she just looked away again. I waited awhile, but she still didn't answer or look me, so I decided to ask a different question.

"You said you didn't really know this friend of yours. So where'd you meet him?" I asked, hoping for a response.

"I met him in a chat room online. His screen name was Nakura," she said quietly. Stopping short on the sidewalk, beginning to look around for the person she was meeting.

An online chat room. A person she didn't know. Screen name 'Nakura'. Why did that name sound familiar. "Hey Kamichika-san, what kind of chat room was this?" I said, growing a bit suspicious. She stopped looking around, and looked up at me, seeing how I was only a few inches taller than her. She looked like she was contemplating something, if she should tell me or not. When she finally made up her mind, she simply said, as if it were a regular answer,

"A suicide chat room."

My head started to feel a bit woozy, but I shook my head clear, and looked at her. "Rio…you're not thinking of…committing suicide…are you?" I asked her quietly. She didn't answer at first, making me think she didn't hear me, but then she started to tell me why, and to tell me how. It was a few, short minutes, but ones that made me understand why she was doing this.

She told me about parents. About the note that made her think her father was having an affair. How she began to think her happy family life was fake. How she gave the pictures of her father's betrayal to her mother in secret. How she felt, when everything seemed to go on like normal, like it never happened at all. Her feelings of how, if she was gone, everything would be normal. If they would miss her when she was gone. And about the person 'Nakura' who wanted to 'disappear' with her.

After she told me all of this, in those few short minutes, I asked her, "Why are you telling me all of this,"

And she responded, "Because, you're a stranger, and no matter what happens tonight, you'll keep on living like this didn't happen. Like normal," she said.

I gritted my teeth, and stared at her hard. "Rio, do you know how precious life is, and much your loved ones would miss you if you died? Do you have any idea how much grief you would put them through? How can you think that they'd just keep on living like normal? Like they don't care? Do you have any idea how important you are to them? How important your existence is? When you die, it's over, no coming back no matter what. Your throwing your life away like its nothing. Do you have any idea what your really doing?!" I said, my voice growing louder with each word.

She looked at me for a few minutes, before saying, "It's none of your concern what I do, until ten minutes ago I was nothing but a stranger on the street to you. Why do you care? You don't know how I feel. Just go away and continue living your life, and act like this didn't happen," she said, turning away from me, and walking a couple blocks down from where I was. I stood there, frozen to the ground, looking at the place where she once stood.

Why do I care? She was just a kid who bumped into me on the street. And then I remembered why I cared. Because she was throwing her life away, like it didn't mean anything. It's true, I don't know how she feels, but it's pretty damn close to how I'll feel in a few short months.

The grief. The agony. The depression. The thought of knowing there's nothing you can do. I already have all of these, but they'll all be multiplied ten times when it happens. And there's no way in hell I'm letting this kid throw her life away because she thinks the world doesn't care. The world's not that cruel.

I back down to where she was standing, and saw that I tall thin man with brown hair and glasses, wearing a brown over coat had appeared by her side. He soon began to lead them a little ways further down the street. That's when I started running. I weaved my way past the many people on the streets, often bumping into a few at a time, not sparing a glance the them as I ran past, and not noticing or acknowledging there pointed glares or the string or curses that came from their moths, instead I stared fixedly on the point of where the man and Rio had gone into the ally from the sidewalk.

'_Please don't disappear. Please don't disappear!'_ I thought, still a block off from where they had gone. When I finally reached the opening of the ally, I made a sharp right turn, skidding a bit on some broken glass, but regained my balance when I saw Rio.

She was being held still from behind by the brown haired man, while a another kid in a pink sweatshirt held a gas mask over her face. All too quickly, Rio stopped struggling and her body sagged in the man's arms. The pink shirted kid removed the mask and picked up her feet, helping carry her unconscious body to the back of the van where a third man with curly hair and a cigarette was in the diver's seat.

I snapped out of my shock, and I began running, taking out my bat along the way. "HEY! LET GO OF HER!" I shouted at them, running full throttle towards the van. The pink shirted kid, who had jumped in to the back, turned back around and saw me running towards them.

"Aw shit, is that her friend?" he asked the brown haired guy. He quickly jumped into the back and shut his door, and said,

"I don't know, but we gotta go. She's the only one we're supposed to be picking up tonight." he said, before the pink shirted kid slammed the door, and the van took off, gravel, litter and a lit cigarette spraying me in the face and landing behind me, while I continued running, hoping to somehow catch the van before it disappeared into nowhere.

But, the adrenaline burst, that allowed me to catch up with them in the first place, quickly ran out, and left me gasping for air in the middle of the ally, watching the red tail lights of the van vanish out of sight. "Dammit. Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" I yelled kicking a nearby trash can, the van long out of sight. _'No, what do I do now? I don't even know the people who took her, or who they work for,' _I thought, angrily grasping my hat in frustration.

"The coast isn't exactly clear, is it Tachibana-san?" said a smooth voice behind me. I turned sharply and the same wolfish red eyes and smirking smile looking at me expectantly.

"Know-nothing informant, what are you doing here?" I asked him, calming down a bit.

"How rude, I remember your name, and you don't even remember mine," he said, sighing out of mock sadness, "Even though I know where Rio Kamichika is," he continued, casting a sly knowing glance at me.

"You know where they took her?!" I asked excitedly, a smile braking out on my face. He didn't answer, choosing instead to wait until I said the right words. I caught on momentarily to what he wanted from me, and immediately answered, if not hesitantly trying to remember his name, "Izaya Orihara-san," He smiled and continued on.

"Yes, I know where Kamichika-san will be. But, as an informant, my information doesn't come free."

My smile slipped from my face. I'd already spent the last of my money at Russia Sushi, and wouldn't get my paycheck until tomorrow. "Em, about payment Orihara-san…" I started, smiling nervously and rubbing my neck sheepishly.

"Very good Tachibana-san, you remembered my name again. So just this once, this piece of information will be free of charge, as long as you remember my name whenever you need information," he said, his voice lowering in tone to that of one that was menacing.

I swallowed out of the slight fear I felt in this situation, but chose to accept this condition in favor of finding Rio before something terrible happened. "Alright, I will," I said, taking a few steps closer to him.

"Very good. Just follow me, we'll be there shortly." he said, turning and walking towards the sidewalk. I hesitated, but followed, questioning myself if this was really a good idea. And then I thought the worst thing you could possibly think in this type of situation.

'_What's the worst that could happen?'_


	5. Chapter 5:Low-Life Punk

**Okay, quick note. One: the translations- got them from Google translate, so I hope they are legit. Two: the things I need to improve on. A) clearing writers block, and working on story lines. B) you guys as the readers can help me with this one: Constructive criticism, the reviews, what you think I should improve on. Would really help me out. Anyway, chapter six! All credits, characters, the ones I didn't create, and the anime, go to the creator of Durarara!. Here we go~**

"Um Orihara-san, are you sure this is the right way?" I asked him as he led us further and further into the outskirts of the city. We had been walking for half an hour at least and it seemed like he might be more or less leading me into a trap with the promise of finding of a girl who was more or less about to commit suicide.

"Of course I'm sure, don't you trust my Tachibana-chan?" he said, glancing at me over his shoulder, giving me a smug look.

"You and I both know that trust needs to be earned. And of the two times we've met, you've done nothing to earn my trust. Plus you insulted me!" I said, shouting the last part, mostly because I was still mad that he had the nerve to call me bipolar.

"Hmm, we'll have to fix that then, wont we." he said, looking forward again, but not without giving me a smirk. I scoffed, and began looking around my surroundings more closely.

The neighborhood we were in was dingy, and was in dire need of repair. Almost all of the buildings were closed down, as well as a few that looked to be, what were once, apartment buildings, with boards and yellow tape, with the words **CONDEMNED** written across the yellow glossy surface, covering the doors and windows, except for a few where the boards were pried off and the tape ripped, making an entrance for those that were either homeless, or drug addicts.

Of the few buildings that seemed to be only open at night, they included a few strip clubs and brothels, as well as a twenty-four drug store and a few restaurants with few cars passing by on the street. And if I squinted, I could see my apartment building more than a block away. _WHAT THE HELL?!_ How many times had I walked down this street and not noticed these… places of business?! Granted it was daylight, and I always walked the long way around this street, but _come on_! _'That's it, as soon as I gather up enough money, I'm gonna find a different apartment _within_ the city as soon as my contract is up.' _I thought, blindly following the informant.

"We're here," he said suddenly, turning around sharply to face me, making me almost bump into him.

"We're here?" I asked, looking around again.

"Yes, it's this building right here." he said, briefly glancing to the building to his right. I looked up at the building with a questioning, and also worried, glance. _'_

_This guy isn't planning to abduct me too, is he?'_ I thought to myself, before he said,

"We have to go to the top of this building, Kamichika-san will be."

I looked back at him, arching one of my eyebrows silently asking how he could possibly know so much. "I'm an informant Tachibana-san, it's what I do," he said, answering my question as if I had said it out loud, and proceeded to turn and walk into the building. Hesitating a bit, I followed him inside, walking down a semi-dark hallway where I almost lost him, had he not shouted "This way Tachibana-san! Wouldn't want to get lost now," leading me to a stairwell. I didn't see him inside the stairwell, but this was where I had heard him before.

"Easy for you say. You actually know where you're going," I said, annoyed at the fact that I didn't have the slightest clue as to where the hell we were going, and if he was leading me to Rio at all. None the less, I walked up the stairwell, pausing only when I heard a chain drop to the floor above me. _'I have a bad feeling about this,' _I thought, continuing the rest of the way up the stairs, stopping at a door leading to the roof, the chains originally barring the door lying on the ground.

"Orihara-san? Where'd ya go?" I asked aloud , pushing through the door to the outside roof. I looked around the barren roof top and sighed at the situation. "Why do I smell a trap?" I asked, mumbling to myself. _'Nice view though,'_ I thought, leaning against the metal railing on the stairs. _'The city's prettier at night,'_ I thought to myself, staring at the tall buildings and lights.

"Beautiful, isn't it Tachibana-san," said a male voice behind me. I turned sharply around and looked up at the railings above me where the wolfish man himself was leaning, smirking down at me. I didn't say anything, instead I walked down the stairs and around the side of the cement structure, looking for a way to get up to where he was.

"Those magnificent buildings housing all my wonderful humans," he continued, while I found the small stairwell leading to the upper level where he stood. "What do you think would happen if those marvelous buildings came crashing down around them?" he mused, leaning back on his heels, and holding the railing with his hands. He turned slightly and slipped me a sneaky smirk.

"In one word: Chaos. People put into a state of confusion will act as such, and until the situation passes, they'll act like chickens with their lobbed off. But we both know I didn't follow you all the way here to the outskirts of town just to ramble on about this and that," I said, shoving one hand in my pocket, and raising my right hand to keep my hat on in the wind.

"Interesting point of view. And no, I suppose you didn't. You're here to make sure Kamichika-san is all right," he said in that smooth voice of his, leaning back on the railing.

"Yes, I'd also like to know why she would be taken here," I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

"One question at a time, shall we?" he said, pulling out a cell phone from his coat pocket and opening it, looked at the screen for a brief moment, before typing something on the screen, and putting the phone away. I raised one of my eyebrows at him questionably, wondering what it was he was typing.

"Kamichika-san will be here in a few minutes. If we look over the edge of this building, we can probably see her right now," he said cheerfully, pointing behind me at the railing opposite of the one he was leaning on. I turned around and walked to the railing, looking down beyond the edge of the roof, to the street below.

"I can't see the sidewalk on this side," I said, leaning further out to try and see.

"Careful. A fall from this high up will give you a one way ticket to the afterlife. You can see the sidewalk better if you move over more to the left," he said.

I took several steps to my left and looked out on the street again. "Being over here doesn't make any difference," I huffed, frustrated.

"No, it wont. But being in this spot will keep you hidden while I have a chat with Kamichika-san," he said, snapping a pair of handcuffs over my wrists, the short chain treading trough the gap in the bars and railing.

"Wha-! You bastard, what are you doing?!" I yelled, uselessly trying to shake off the hand cuffs.

"Originally, I thought just seeing Kamichika-san's reaction, would be fun. But…you know what they say. 'The more, the merrier,'" he said, smirking at me.

"_Bastaird tú! Tricked tú dom!" _(You bastard! You tricked me!) I yelled. Swearing in my second tongue of Irish, picking up the Irish lilt I had gotten from my father, among other things.

"What a _harsh_ thing to say Tachibana-san. I'm doing exactly what you said," he said smoothly. Not even batting an eye to my glare I was giving him.

"Which is?" I spit at him, obviously furious.

"Having you make sure Kamichika-san is safe and sound," he said, smirking. I bit my tongue, knowing that it was what I asked of him. However, it did not condone for why he hand cuffed me to the metal railing.

"It still doesn't explain why you HANDCUFFED ME TO A FREAKING RAIL!" I yelled at him, losing my cool halfway threw.

"No need to yell Tachibana-san. This is just an insurance that you don't interfere with my little meeting with Kamichika-san," he said. Before in the blink of an eye, he withdrew his hand from his pocket, flicking open a switchblade, and held it to my neck. _"Agus ba mhaith liom buíoch más rud é nach raibh tú a labhairt i gcaitheamh an oiread," _(And I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak during it either.)

I stood dumbfounded, and honestly a little scared, until I found the voice I needed trapped by the knife at my throat, to speak. "So now you threaten me in my own language? And, I'm sorry, but you don't seem like the type to dirty his hands on this sort of thing," I said, keeping my voice even, despite the fear that was still lodged in my throat.

"No, I suppose you're right," he said removing his blade and placing it back in his pocket. _'Suppose?'_ "Besides, I can always have someone else abduct you in your sleep from your, little more than decrepit, apartment, and subject you to all sorts of horrible and soul killing experiments," he said, all this with that stupid freaking smirk on his face.

'_If my hands weren't cuffed, I'd punch him in the face,'_ I thought, with a grimace on my face at the mere thought of what he'd just said. "Fine, I wont talk. But I won't promise to keep still, 'cause if I sense _anything_ going wrong, I don't care what, I will brake out of these handcuffs, and beat you to within an inch of your life if you do anything to hurt her," I said, with as much menace, and anger as possible. And yet, it did nothing. He kept that stupid grin on his face, chuckled a few times and turned, and left. Leaving me in the handcuffs, tied to a rail.

After that, I started debating ways to get the handcuffs off, only being momentarily distracted by the thought of, _'Why would he have hand cuffs in the first place?'_, for that I left the answer blank. I didn't have a knife or file to break the chain that connected the cuffs, and that bastard left no room for me to slip the cuffs from my wrists. Speaking of which, the cold metal was starting to cut into my skin do the bones underneath. _'I guess that just leaves straining the chain 'til it brakes,'_ I thought, not noticing the squeaking sound of the metal door that led to the roof, being pushed open. Or the voice of Izaya Orihara calling the girl by a name I didn't know.

I only started realizing someone else was here, when I heard Izaya start talking about the last few moments that happened to the girl. And hearing about how he arranged it to see what she would do, or predicting how she would act, made me sick. And when I hear the girl speak, I realized it was Rio. At that, I put my idea into action, and put my foot on the railing, and pulled the short chain, hoping the metal links would brake, all the while listening to Izaya.

"Many People have jumped to their deaths from the vary spot you're standing on. It's not really famous for it or anything, but it's high enough that if you jump, the fall will kill you. Look! See that stain down there?" he said, probably pointing to the splatter of red that marked the pavement, forever witness to the descent of the last person that was up here. Just hearing about it and thinking about it made the bile rise in my throat, threatening to make me puke over the side of the building.

'_This guy really is twisted,'_ I thought, hearing him go off on a spiel about how everyone was the same. Everyone lies, everyone steals, and everyone has their secrets. And then started talking about how if you're having an affair or if you're spouse knows and about the same dumb jokes, and eating the same sweet stew and just keep going. _'This guy really knows how to lay it on thick,'_ I thought, then realized what he was talking about.

'_Affair?! Wait, is he talking about Rio's parents? Is he talking about her home life?!'_ I thought, pushing my leg harder against the rail, and straining my hands to brake metal links. I heard a slight whine from the metal, and felt something give a little. I felt my heart speed up, and began pulling harder than before.

"Well, I gotta bounce. Thanks for proving to me just how ugly and immature you are. Thanks for keeping it real. Oh, and just so you know, I don't really care about you're problems. I just wanted to see how you handled yourself. You didn't let me down though. You're just as boring as I imagined you to be. Thanks again, I had an excellent time Miss Magenta," He said, closing the metal door, leaving us on the roof without another word. And all the while, I thought sarcastically,

_'He sure does know how to leave with a bang.'_

I stopped pulling on the cuffs, and strained myself to see around the corner of the wall, so I could see where Rio was. _'I hope she's okay after all that,'_ I thought, straining my neck to look for her. I saw her in what I assumed was the same spot she was in when she was talking to Izaya. Then I noticed she was on the other side of the railing at the edge, looking down over the edge of the building. Fear rose inside of me at the thought that she might jump. _'No, she's not going to jump, she can't jump. She can't!'_ I thought, having my own fear realized when I saw her slowly move her body forward, and fell off the side of the building.

Panic rose up inside of me, and in a moment of mixed adrenaline and fear, pulled the cuffs, and barely registered the chain snapping, I ran around the corner of the wall, and jumped over the rail. The short fall took me by surprise, but when I hit the cement-with my knees-of the roof, I pushed off my knees to my feet and ran to the spot she had jumped from. I didn't know what I could possibly do at this point, besides hoping that this wasn't actually happening.

I hit the rail and tried to peer over the side of the roof, but I couldn't see the alleyway beneath it. "Rio," I whispered, to no one but myself. I swung one leg over the railing, briefly straddling it before putting my other leg over. I kept one hand tightly on the railing and inched closer to the edge, peering down into the ally way. It was dark, but I could see. At first I was sick because the first thing I saw was the blood stain, but as I looked around the site, I saw two figures, people, move. One from what I could see, had a yellow bikers helmet. And the other…was wearing a white jacket.

"RIO!" I yelled down, trying to catch her attention. I saw the figure look up, and heard the voice of Rio call back.

"Ta-Tachibana-san?" I sighed and laughed a little as the tension an fear left me, replaced by relief.

"Rio, are you okay? Are you hurt?" I shouted down at her. "Y-yes, I'm fine," she called back, sounding a little confused. I sighed once again out of relief, and spoke again.

"Hey, listen, if you ever want to talk, you know about anything, you know where to find me, all right?"

"O-okay," she stuttered back, turning her face away from me, and heading toward the mouth of the alley. I stepped away from the edge, and leaned against the railing, overcome with fatigue, and relief that she had not died.

"Very interesting Tachibana-chan," said a voice behind me. I turned surprised and saw Izaya lightly clapping his hands, as if mocking me for a poor performance of a play.

"You are one low life bastard, you know that?" I said, glaring at him, before swinging my legs over the railing again, and standing before, almost a head shorter than him. _'Tall people annoy me,'_ I thought with slight jealousy. And then thinking of the bartender, that was at least several inches taller, I corrected my thoughts. _'No, they piss me off.'_

"We all have our opinions of others Tachibana-chan. As well as expectations. And you fulfilled mine," he said, briefly glancing at the metal cuffs locked around my wrists like bracelets. I looked down at them and said,

"You aren't getting these back," as if he would want them, now that they no longer served their original purpose.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the key with me," he said coolly, which trapped me into a corner of thought and irritation, thinking of how I could get these off.

"That's it, I'm going home," I announced, stalking past him, and towards the stairs that led up to the door.

"By the way, Amai-san. How's your mother?" he said, before I could even touch the handle, making me freeze at the mere mention of her. "Doctors have her on a time limit now, don't they?" he said conversationally. Probably gauging my reaction. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I spoke, quietly, but surely, reaching my hand up to pinch my ear lobe, as to not let my emotions get the better of me.

"Don't talk about my mother. And don't say my name in such a familiar way," I said, glancing back at him.

He smirked, and walked towards me. "Again you meet my expectations. And even exceed them. But we both know how you really feel deep down, don't we Amai-chan," he said, placing his hands on my shoulder, and whispering low in the ear opposite the one I was pinching, he said, "She got what she deserved didn't she? You told her over and over to stop. But she just wouldn't. And look what happened. You were right, and now she suffers the consequences. And deep down, below that sadness and fear of losing your mother, you cant help but feel smug and content at how right you were. Am I right Amai? Did I hit the nail on the head?"

I let go of ear, and let the rage and frustration rise up inside of me, caused by the words he'd just said. Angrily, I swung around, my right hand balled up into a fist, ready to punch that sorry bastard right in his nose. But he dodged it so effortlessly, causing my body to stumble forward at the loss of a target, and fall down the stairs. Well, almost. Izaya had grabbed my free hand and now held onto it, leaving my body at a dangerous angle, that if he were to let go, I would fall down the metal stairs, and hit my head on the cement. Even in this act, I knew it wasn't kindness, it was out of sheer content that he had gotten a rise out of me, and now had the situation so that I would have to depend on him not to let go. "Don't act like you know me," I hissed at him. He smirked, and pulled my hand sharply, bringing me up from my angle to stand before him on the edge of the first step.

"You're wrong Amai-chan. You see I know everything about you. In fact, I've known about you since before you even moved to Ikebukuro, when you were still living on that pitiful and mundane farm in Hokkaido," he said, smirking. My eyes widened. The only person who had ever called my home mundane, was an internet punk by the name of Nakura. And then it hit me. Rio had said that the person she was supposed to 'disappear' with was someone named Nakura.

"It was you," I said incredulously. "You're the guy that tried to convince me to come here."

He grinned and said nothing, but that said it all. "You punk! Do you know what I've had to face almost every month after moving here!" I said accusingly.

"Yes, but, even you agree that this place is better than that closet of skeletons you face back home," he said, smiling his wolfish grin.

_'So he knows about that too then?'_ I wondered to myself. No, that's impossible. To this day, I've never told another living soul, and even thinking back on it gave me nightmares.

"I'm going home," I said, walking around him and opening the door. Before stepping through it, I stopped and glanced back at him. "I suppose you know where that is too right?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"You're catching on, Amai-chan." he said. I opened my mouth to say not to call me that. But closed it, not really caring what he called me, as long as it wasn't the 'Bipolar Fireball' name everyone else called me. I simply turned, too tired to argue anymore tonight, and walked down the stairs, out of the building, and down the street in the direction of the apartment complex, where in the little light the moon showed, I could see my black and white cat sleeping on the window sill.

Later that week, I saw Rio Kamichika walk by the bakery window, newly ordered and stenciled with the name of the bakery in pink and yellow, with her friends on their way home from school. She turned her head and looked at the window, and then looked inside. Upon seeing me at my usual spot behind glass counter top and case, she went back to the door, and came inside the shop.

"Umm, Tachibana-san, thank you, for listening to my problems that day. I'm sorry for any problems I caused you," she said, bowing her head in apology.

"Don't mention it, I'm just glad you're all right. How is…your home?" I asked, not sure what the answer might be. She smiled and said that things were gradually, but surly getting better. I smiled and offered her a pastry on the house. She declined, but promised to be back soon. With that, she left the shop and returned to her friends who had been peering through the window, noses squished against the glass, and marks forming underneath them that signaled their breathing.

When she joined them, it looked like they were bombarding her with questions. I watched them leave and went back to work. At an hour before my shift ended for the night at six, I looked at the glass again and saw that the breath marks were still there where Rio's friends were, peering into the shop. I sighed and reached under the register to the small space underneath that kept the few belongings I brought to work and some cleaning supplies. I grabbed the window cleaning bottle and a rag, and walked to the front of the shop, opened the door, and went to the window.

Before I could spray the spot, I heard a large crash sound behind me, that sounded similar to crushed metal. I turned around and saw a convenience store trash can behind, no more than a foot away from where I was standing. "What the-" I said before I was cut off by a long string of words mashed together in haste, the last one being the only one I could identify.

"_IIIZZAAYYAAAAAAAA!"_


	6. Chapter 6:Mr Bartender

In the brief few minutes, before a convenience store trashcan landed almost a foot behind me, there was the slow and sudden recognition of an enemy on the street. The man who had spotted this enemy, or adversary to some, let loose a great bellow of anger, the name of this enemy. His name? Heiwajima Shizuo. The adversary to which he held great anger? Orihara Izaya. Of course, I wasn't there to witness what happened. I was minding my own business, walking out of the store front to clean two smears off the large glass window left behind by two questioning high schools girls on their way home with a third girl who had stopped inside the shop.

The reason I know what happened during the few moments it took me to get the cleaning solution and a rag, and to go outside, is because of two high school-ers on their way to the bakery. One dark blond haired first year dragging his black haired, blue-eyed friend along in a quest of the flirtatious kind. This is the story of what happened in all of three minutes from several different people I had asked, along with the two boys, pieced together into a somewhat understandable story.

_The blond haired man, dubbed as "The Strongest Man in Ikebukuro" was following his dreadlocked boss, hands stuffed in his pockets, on the way to a man across town, in the pursuit of collecting money from the poor bastard, I mean, client. Just as they passed an alleyway, a man in a fur trimmed jacket, with straight black hair stepped from the mouth of the alley and in a playful voice called, "Shizu-chan~"_

_The anger was immediate at the sound of this childish name. His back straightened from its lightly hunched over appearance. His hair at the back of his head, bristling like a cats in silent hostility. From the view of the people on the street, time seemed to slow ever so slightly, as the blond turned around and, in seething hostility towards this man, let a growl like that of an angry dog or wild animal out ending in a bitter snap of the black haired man's name. "Izaya."_

_For the few seconds that time seemed to have slowed down, it sped up twice as fast, and maybe faster, as the blond yelled in mal contempt and ripped a yield sign from the concrete ground, swinging it at the raven haired man. The dreadlocked man who was formally in front of, but now behind him, backed up a few feet and then some, knowing full well that there was no way to calm him down now. The man called "Izaya" easily dodged the swing of the sign, seeming to dance out of the way as it swung back again. Laughing at his attempt to hit him, Izaya turned and ran down the street._

"_Come back here you bastard!" the blond man, Shizuo, yelled, immediately running after him, sign in hand before throwing it at him, only for it to wiz past him and hit the middle of the pavement, before the black haired man took a sharp turn left and ran down the street. But not before saying a quick remark, that resulted in the blond yelling Izaya's name, dragging it out as he ran down the street. Only when he saw a convenience store trashcan, did he stop momentarily, to grip both of it's sides, hands curling into the metal and tore it up from the ground through the layer of concrete, and hurl it at the receding back of the black haired man. While the precision was straight on, the target was free moving, and unpredictable, especially when screwing people over. This I heard from Masaomi when Mikado left briefly to get some drinks from the refrigerator situated on one side of the wall at the bakery._

_He ducked out of the way, narrowly escaping the trash can, letting it fly past him and crash onto the pavement behind me. The blond, in obvious agitation, yelling a mix of words and profanities, ending with a long, drawn out name. _"IIIZZAAYYAAAAAAAA!"

Now, this day was tiring. The shop, while it was not the total rush hour, it was still busy, and with an hour left on my shift, I was about ready to hang up the yellow-trimmed, pink flowered apron of my workplace, and go home. But, of course, when life hands you two lemons who pissed you off for one reason or another, what do you do? You squish them and make sweet satisfying lemonade.

"Oh~ Amai-chan, is this where you work?" Izaya asked, walking towards me as if nothing had happened. He stopped before, giving a casual glance over his shoulder at the seething blond man, almost a block down the street, wrap his hand around a stop sign at the street corner. I didn't see what happened after he did, because Izaya, stepped into my view, probably trying to gain my attention.

"How many times have I told you not to get overly familiar with me Orihara-san?" I said, a little irritated at his presence. I'll never say this out loud, but it was agitating and uncomfortable, to be under that scrutinizing gaze of his. Like he was picking you apart and seeing what made you tick with his eyes alone.

"I'd think we'd know each other a bit better after last week, wouldn't you agree? _Amai-chan~_" he said, leaning in close to whisper in my ear. I flinched away from him, and looked over his shoulder again at the blond bartender making his way towards us, long strides and a stop sign swinging back and forth as he carried it with malice.

"Keep your opinions to yourself _Orihara-san,_" I said, putting as much emphasis on his family name as possible.

"And speaking of last week, give me the keys to these things!" I said, holding up my wrists, still clad in the metal cuffs, as well as badly bandaged with small spots of red. "Despite what anyone says, I'm not a masochist!" I said, thinking back to the time I spurred a small group of gang members into attacking me. Not my most shining moment.

"Of course Amai-chan. But right now, watch your head," he said, grabbing my shoulders and turning me around with him, before he let go and disappeared into the bakery.

"What?" I asked to myself, before turning back around to see if the blonde was still behind me.

He was. Along with his stop sign, already swinging, aimed for my head. I ducked quickly, and the sign ended up hitting a parking meter, sending it and loose change flying across the street. "Dammit!" he growled, looking around the area for a sign of the informant.

"Dude! What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled, straightening up from my crouched position, tilting my hat back a bit to look at him.

"Huh?" he looked down at me, the anger subsiding slightly, before flaring up again, at the sound of a certain name.

"Shizu-chan~ trying to hit a woman? That's awfully low of you isn't it?" said a smug voice. I turned around slightly, keeping the bartender within my peripheral vision, and saw Izaya leaning against the doorway of the bakery. I looked behind him and saw Miss Yuumi peering around him, a worried look on her face as her eyes darted from Izaya to 'Shizu-chan', to me. I snorted at the name and began to out right laugh as I turned back to 'Shizu-chan'.

"Shizu-chan?" I laughed, wrapping an arm around my middle and putting a hand in my pocket, gripping my 'bat' incase he tried to do anything funny.

"How many times do I have to tell you that's not my name!" he yelled, holding up the stop sign to swing it at him. However, before the sign was halfway to its mark, my bat had already left my pocket, straightening from its collapsible state, and locking into place. I held the bat with both hands, and braced myself as the sign came into contact with it, a sharp metal ring coursing through the air.

"How many times do _I_ have to tell you, there's no fighting here?!" I half asked, half yelled. Gritting my teeth against the force he was putting into the sign.

"Kid, I don't have time for this. And it's not 'cause I'm busy," he growled at me, glaring at me behind his sunglasses.

"I'm not a kid _Shizu-chan_, and besides, your friend's long gone," I said, looking behind me to where only Miss Yuumi stood, taking the place of Izaya.

"_He's not my friend! _And _don't _call me _Shizu-chan,_" he yelled, putting more pressure on the sign.

_'What the hell's up with his strength?!'_ I thought, my foot slipping a bit against the force.

I chanced a glance up at his eyes, seeing the blue glasses slip a little down his nose, only adding to the intensity of his rage. _'This guy's like a beast!' _I thought, tightening my grip and pushing back a little on the stop sign turned weapon. _'I'm gonna run out of adrenaline soon if this keeps up. And if that happens, I'm gonna go flying through the window. One shot, and I cant mess up. Here goes nothing.'_

I released my grip on the metal and set it against my thigh so the bat wouldn't slip and let the stop sign hit me. My hand shot out at him, reaching up to grab his ear around where the pressure point was He flinched a bit, barely noticeable if someone was paying attention_, _when my hand shot out at him, but paid no mind when he felt me grab it. That is, until I pinched the point on his ear. And like every other time I had done this, on myself, or brothers or whoever, the change was, like last time, noticeable and instantaneous.

His eyes became unfocused, and heavy lidded. His hunched shoulders drooped as his body physically relaxed and his grip and pressure on the stop sign loosened up until the stop sign dropped with a clang on the concrete. His arms swayed to his sides and he stared at me with incomprehension. "Okay Blondie, lets just calm down. The scary informant is gone now, so there's no reason to be angry anymore right?" I asked, letting go a little on his ear. He nodded slightly, and continued to stare at me.

It was quiet for a few minutes, with the whispered murmurs of the people surrounding us. Point is, it was starting to get uncomfortable with him staring.

"Umm, are you…ok-ow!" I started to say, until Miss Yuumi hit my head with a rolled up newspaper. It didn't hurt or anything, it was more out of surprise.

"Amai! What are you doing?!" Miss Yuumi said, the newspaper clenched in both of her shaking hands.

"Huh? I'm dealing with Mr. Bartender," I said pointing at him. I looked at him again. The focus had come back to his eyes, and his body wasn't relaxed anymore, but it wasn't rigid either. _'The physical effects should have worn off by now, but why isn't he moving?'_ I thought, waving a hand in front of his face.

He blinked in surprise, then scowled and turned away. The people who had gathered to watch, including Mikado and Masaomi, moved away and made a path for the frustrated blonde. "Well that was pleasant," I said sarcastically, watching his receding back until met up with his dreadlock friend and turned a corner.

"Come on Amai, he's gone now. And you've got a shift to finish up," Miss Yuumi said, grabbing my arm and pulling me back inside the bakery.

Mikado and Masaomi followed us inside and sat at one of the few tables while I swept the floor. They told me about what had happened before the small scuffle. At about ten minutes to the end of my shift, they left for home. For the last ten minutes, I busied myself with cleaning the counter and tables, and staking the chairs on top of them. Then I remembered that I still needed to clean the spot on the window. I grabbed the bottle and rag and headed back outside, but I stopped in the door when I saw the tall blonde standing just to the side of the window, leaning on the wall, just barely noticeable from the outside, smoking a cigarette.

I stood still a few moments, until I let the door click shut behind me. He looked over at me briefly, before letting his eyes face forward again, taking a deep drag off the cigarette. _'Ugh, smoking. Glad I'm not down wind,'_ I thought, walking to the spot, and spraying it. When I started wiping it, I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. Even though the spot was gone, I sprayed the window again in a different spot and decided to start up a small conversation. "So, what are you doing? Stalking me now?" I asked only slightly curious.

"Tch, no," he said, turning his head slightly towards me.

"Huh, well, hope your having fun leaning against a wall doing _that,_" I said, with one final swipe on the window and a small twinge of pain on my wrist. I never really was very good at conversing with people my age. I turned and walked back into the bakery. I came out a few minutes later, jacket and no apron, with my hat off the rack. I gave him one final glance before I turned away from him and walked down the street. Almost a block down the street, I got an idea, and, and, pinching my ear, turned around, backtracking my steps.

"Hey, umm…Shizu-chan," I said, reaching him. The cigarette, which he had then held between his fingers, snapped in half, his jaw tightening.

"That's not my name," he said between clenched teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, listen Blondie, how 'bout I cut you a deal," I said, watching the broken cigarette fall to the ground before he stepped on it in shiny shoes, putting it out.

"I don't do 'deal's'," he said, taking out a semi-full box of cigarettes.

"It's nothing illegal Smokey, I just need you to get these cuffs off, and I'll give you anything you want in the bakery," I said, holding up my wrists for him to see. He paused a moment, glancing inside.

"Anything?" he asked placing an unlit cigarette between his lips.

"Yeah, just get these damn things off," I said, holding my wrists out for him. "I know your strong, so there's no stopping you," I said. He looked around the inside the bakery, chewing on the end of the cigarette.

"Alright, deal," he said, stepping away from the wall to stand in front of me. I held my wrist closer to him, and placed his hands on mine and pried the metal away from my skin with little to no effort, he did the same with the other and handed me the now useless, twisted pieces of metal.

"Thanks," I said, rubbing my wrists to get the flow of circulation moving faster. He grunted in response and moved around me, and opened the door of the store. "You know, it's considered rare for me to be nice to people, so at least take knowledge of it," I said irritated, moving through the open door, he entering and letting the door slam shut.

"Give me a minute, I'll be out to help you," said Miss Yuumi from the kitchen.

"It's me Miss Yuumi," I called back, nearing the counter and leaning back against it while Mr. Bartender looked through the desserts.

I was a little surprised that he went straight to the desserts. You wouldn't expect it from a grown man. "Amai? What are you doing back? Did you forget something?" she called, her foot steps, from the sound of it, nearing the door.

"No, I kind of made a deal with someone, so I'm letting them pick what they want in the bakery on me," I said, as the door opened.

"Oh, well that's-WAH!" she shouted, piercing my ear drum.

"Owww, no need to shout Miss Yuumi," I said, rubbing my ear.

"Wha-wha-what is he _doing_ here?!" she said, backing away into the kitchen.

"That's the guy I made with a deal with. See? He got the cuffs off!" I said, showing her my metal free wrists. The broken cuffs stuffed away in my pockets.

"Amai, are you all…" Miss Yuumi said, trailing off, when she noticed my mood, knowing I had already taken a disliking to the blonde smoker.

"Pressure point," I explained, pointing to my sore ear.

"Ah," she said, and looked away towards the blonde, and then freezing like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"Hmm?" I hummed, looking at the blonde. He was looking at us holding a small strawberry shortcake in one hand. "You done?" I asked, pointing at the cake. He nodded once with a bored look on his face. "Ok, bring it here so I can check the price," I said, waving him over.

"Hmph, thought I wasn't paying." he said, slightly amused as he walked over. Miss Yuumi backed away until she was behind me, peering over my shoulder at the tall man as he stood before the counter, hands in his pockets, the unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.

"You aren't, it's coming out of my pay," I said, reading the sticker and getting out my wallet.

"Hey, umm, sorry about…almost hitting you…and everything. You're not mad…right?" he asked, rubbing his neck and looking away.

"Oh, I'm mad alright. In fact, I'm freaking pissed as hell. But, using the pressure point guarantees at least ten minutes of calmness, more depending on how angry I am," I said, all this with a cheerful smile on my face, getting out 1200 yen and placing it in the cash register.

"Pressure point?" he mumbled, as I placed the cake in a small cardboard box.

"Yup," I confirmed, looking at my watch. "By the way, you have about twelve seconds before I start insulting you," I said, walking around the counter and handing him the box and pushing him towards the door.

"What? H-hey! Stop pushing me!" he shouted, stumbling slightly onto the sidewalk.

"Yeah yeah yeah. My shifts over, I'm going home. You got your reward, so just go already. Unless you want to try swinging a stop sign at me again," I said, closing the door and turning away to walk down the street. "Thanks for stopping at Sakura Bakery by the by," I shouted over my shoulder, hands shoved in my pockets, and taking the long way home, hoping to bypass the 'shops' on my neighborhood. I thought I heard a 'weird kid' remark, but I ignored it and continued on my way.

_~DRRR~ _(signifies time skip)

'_So all in all, I met Rio again, almost suffered brain damage from a stop sign, and got the metal cuffs off. It's two out of three, all in all a good day,'_ I thought, entering the lobby of the apartment building. _'This lobby's like an oxymoron,'_ I thought, looking at the nice furniture and stain free walls and ceiling. _'but maybe it's just my apartment that's run down,'_ I thought, opening the stairwell door.

'_It's probably just mine though, 'cause Taka-chan's apartment is cleaner than…than what? A slightly used whistle? Gross,'_ I thought to myself, walking up the to the top floor. _'What should I make for dinner? I had instant ramen last night. So I should make curry tonight. Curry rice or karē udon? I'll check the pantry and see what I have. Depending on if Moo-Moo got rid of all the rodents, the boxes should be intact.'_

'_Maybe I should have got some curry bread for breakfast tomorrow at the convenience store on the way home. I can always pick some up on the way to work though,'_ I thought, stopping outside my door and reaching into my pocket for my keys. _'Stupid lock. Come on! Before he shows up. Come on! Open Sesame!'_ I thought in a rush, trying to unlock the door before _he_ saw me through his peep hole like the perv he was.

Through the continuous jingling of the keys, I ended up dropping them. "Shit." I said aloud, bending down to pick them up.

"Mmm, if only I could get you to bend like that over a table." said a husky voice behind me. My eyes narrowed and I quickly turned around to see Hotaka Mitsukanei leaning in his open door way, clad in an dirty under shirt and gray sweatpants, smirking at me.

'_Oh shit. There goes my day.'_

**I almost forgot to add this! For those of you who enjoy Shizuo's natural sexy-ness, go to and look up durarara 24 hours. I promise you wont be disappointed! :3**


	7. Chapter 7:Advice Column

Hotaka Mitsukanei

His height is average, so he was a little taller than me. He is in his mid 30s, but his short black hair is receding a bit. He isn't thin, but he's not portly either, being an ex-Yakuza and all has some perks with keeping up a good physique, which sort of spiraled when he 'left' the Yakuza, A.K.A: he was let go of. I don't know what he does for money, but I know he has stash hidden in his apartment from his Yakuza days. Which is probably why he was let go. As for his behavior. Most days I either wanted to knock him through a brick wall, or take a two hour long shower after talking to him.

"So my sexy 'fireball', I heard you got a cat. If you ever feel like your getting a little older, call me over, I'll make you feel young again," he said, dragging his eyes down my body.

"Ugh, get lost Ho." I said, turning away. I heard him scoff behind me at the name. He didn't like it because 'Ho' means creep. And it somehow made him feel insulted. "Oh, right, sorry 'Chikan-san'," I said, correcting my self, while trying to turn the lock. _'Stupid damn door is stuck again,'_ I thought.

"Come on baby, we both know you want it. I'll make you yell in ways you haven't yelled before," he said, standing behind me, hand touching my shoulders, working their way down.

"Whatever your about to do, don't. 'Cause you know you will regret it," I said, partially turning around to glare at him. He turned me around to face him, and slammed the palms of his hands against the wood of my door.

"Yeah? And what's that?" he said, leaning towards my face.

"Taka-chan!" I yelled, shoving his face away.

"What is it Amai? I'm getting ready for work!" Taka-chan yelled, exasperated, threw his door.

"Chikan-san is trying to steal my innocence again!" I yelled back, stepping on his foot with my heel.

"What! You perverted bastard!" Taka-chan yelled, slamming the door open, letting it bang against the wall, revealing Taka-chan in his semi-naked male-tyranny glory. Which basically meant he had a towel wrapped around his chest and a curling iron and blow drier in each hand.

"Ho-chan, what did I tell you about stealing my precious neighbor's virginity?!" Taka-chan asked, brandishing the curling iron like a sword.

"Hey hey! Take it easy you transvestite! She was practically begging for it when she bent over and showed my her ass," he said, putting his hands up in mock surrender at the end of the hot curling iron.

"I was picking up my keys you sick pervert," I said, standing behind Taka-chan with my arms crossed.

"Hey, that's your business, all I know is that I saw your ass," he said, smirking at me.

"Go inside my apartment dear. I'll take care of him," Taka-chan said, narrowing his eyes at Hotaka, acting like a knight from the medieval period.

"Okay," I said, leaving before things got ugly. Taka-chan and Hotaka have an ongoing feud since before I moved in. they say it's about different things, and their way of life, but I know from past experiences through the wall, that Takazawa warns the girls Hotaka brings back, that he's a pervert, a Yakuza, and has an affinity for S&M play. All of which, except maybe the last one, are true. Which causes them to leave, and Hotaka to take revenge by saying the same, if not altered a bit, to the guys Takazawa brings back. To me, it's kind of funny. Although I feel bad for Taka-chan, he deserves someone nice.

I walked inside Taka-chan's apartment, and closed the door before the words could fly, and went and sat down on the plush black couch. I'd been inside Taka-chan's apartment on other occasions, but I was too occupied too notice my surroundings. Like it was a couple weeks before, it was clean and water-spot free. The cement floor was covered in soft beige carpeting. The color scheme of the apartment didn't seem to reflect Takazawa. He was too cheery and girly for black and beige. I heard a soft meow at the window, and when I looked towards it, I saw Moo-Moo, sitting on a flower box filled with soil, and a light dusting of snow, it was, after all, nearing spring.

"What the…I thought I closed the window this morning," I said to myself, getting up off the couch, and walking to the window. I unlocked it, and lifted the window, letting Moo-Moo in before I leaned outside and looked at my window. The window looked fine, but when I took a closer look, I saw that the glass wasn't in its pane. "Dammit, did it fall out again?!" I yelled at no one in particular. "Great, now I have to get another glass window," I mumbled to myself, closing the window and locking it. I looked to where Moo-Moo was and saw her curled up on Takazawa's couch.

"You didn't step on any glass did you?" I asked her, picking her up and sitting down on the couch, placing her in my lap, and checking her paws.

"Oh, God," I heard Takazawa say, coming inside his apartment, and shutting the door, keeping a hand on his head, messaging it, and leaving the blow drier and curling iron on a dining room table.

"Funny, I think that's what Kimi said two nights ago," I said, scratching Moo-Moo's side.

"That man drives me insane," he said, plopping down on the couch, after retrieving a bottle of aspirin from his bathroom.

"I know the feeling. Don't you just want to punch him through a wall?" I said, letting Moo-Moo get up from my lap, and walk onto Takazawa.

"Could you get me some water from the kitchen sweetie?" he asked, pointing it out as if I couldn't see it.

"Yeah, sure," I said, getting up from the couch, and going to one of the cupboards.

"So what did you two end up arguing about?" I asked, while I ran cold water from the sink into a glass.

"Same-old, same-old, this and that," he said, waving his hand in the air to disregard it. "To tell the truth, I could go for a cigarette right now," he said, leaning his head back on the couch, stroking Moo-Moo's fur, while I handed him the water.

"Here ya go." I said, reaching into my pocket and digging out a half-crushed, half-empty package of cigarettes, and tossing it to him.

He caught it in surprise, and looked at me stunned. "What?" I asked, sitting down, petting Moo-Moo's head.

"Why do you have a half-empty package of cigarettes?" he asked, looking at the brand, and taking one out. "I thought you didn't like smoking, or smokers for that matter," he said, putting the cigarette between his lips, and fishing around a drawer in a small side table for matches.

"I don't, I just pick-pocketed them from someone I don't like," I said.

"Why?" he asked, striking a match, and holding the flame up to the end of the cigarette.

"I might not like the guy, but…he got a cake from the bakery, so I don't want him to die from some ailment so he wont come to the bakery anymore," I explained, picking up Moo-Moo from Takazawa's towel covered lap, and scooting to the end of the couch with her while he took a long drag off the cigarette, and breathed a long sigh of relief, letting a billow of smoke out into the air.

"Ha ha. Anything for customers, eh Amai-chan? So? Who was the sorry guy you stole from?" he asked, tapping the end of the cigarette against a small porcelain dish, letting the ash fall off the end. And taking a sip of water from the glass.

"I can't remember his actual name, but someone called him…Shizu-chan?" I asked, pondering the name to myself. Moo-Moo hissed when Takazawa did a spit take and most of the water landed on us.

"Sh-Sh-Shizu-chan?! You mean Shizuo Heiwajima?!" he shouted, the cigarette hanging limply from his hand, while he stared at me in shock.

"Umm, I think that's his name, the guy in the bartender getup," I said, wiping the mix of water and saliva from my face.

"Let me get this straight," he said, standing up from the couch, leaving the lit cigarette in the porcelain dish. "you stole cigarette's, from the most _dangerous man in Ikebukuro?!_" he half-asked, half-yelled, turning to face me with an incredulous look on his face.

"Well, when you put it like that, you make it sound like a bad thing," I said, disregarding it with a wave of my hand.

"_It is a bad thing!_" he shouted, throwing his hands up in the air, almost letting the towel drop. He caught it around his waist, and brought it back up to his chest. "That man has a hair trigger, Amai. He's _dangerous._ He's unpredictable. He…he's too strong!" he shouted, looking at me for some kind of response.

"What's wrong with being strong? And Taka-chan, I know your worried about me, but I can handle myself," I said, looking up at him.

"I know you can Amai…but…huh, you don't understand how fragile you are as a woman. Sometime's, it's okay to depend on people other than yourself," he said, dropping the girly voice, and picking up his natural semi deep masculine voice. He placed his hands on my shoulders, giving me a deep, caring look. There was silence afterwards, and I eventually broke the silence.

"Let's cut the crappy sympathetic talk Taka-chan. You know I don't like it. And don't forgot you still have to get ready for work."

"Oh shit! I forgot!" he said, picking up his girlie voice again, rushing to his bathroom with his blow drier and curling iron, and primped himself for his shift. While he got ready putting on his standard uniform, the flashy shirt and black skirt, I asked what kind of job he did at the bar.

"Just the standard stuff. I serve drinks at the bar, and entertain the men," he said, giggling a little at some memory of a different night.

"So it's a host club for gay guys?" I asked, scratching Moo-Moo under her chin, while she purred.

"Sort of. It's kind of like a club, because there's dancing too," he said, putting on a pair of dangly sliver earrings, and black high heels, which I questioned since he was almost as tall as Mr. Bartender without them.

"Sounds interesting," I said. "Hey Taka-chan, just a thought, but how old are you?" I asked, watching him hunt around for a purse.

"That's a secret I will take to my grave," he said, putting a finger to his smiling lips, as if to hush someone up.

I smiled and picked Moo-Moo up, and followed Taka-chan out of his apartment. "See you tomorrow Amai-chan." He said, waving a bit before walking down the creaky stairs.

"Bye Taka-chan." I yelled after him, fishing for the keys in my pockets, and unlocking the door. I pushed against it hard to get it unstuck, and let Moo-Moo jump from my arms in pursuit of a slow mouse. While Moo-Moo hunted for dinner, I looked in the pantry/cupboards for either rice or noodles. I found a box of rice, in the way back and fished it out, along with the curry mix, finding no holes in either boxes.

While the water boiled, I looked through my mail at the round kitchen table. It was the same as it was at the end of the month every month. Electric bill, water bill, rent due. Except for one. The sender read as such:

**Tachibana, Patrick**

**4242 Yamashichi Street**

**Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan**

"Brother? 'Bout damn time. What's it been? Like six moths since his last letter?" I asked myself, turning the letter around and tearing it open. Even though I had a cell phone, my eldest brother liked the hand written sentiments better. Maybe that's why Momo-chan married him.

Dear Amai,

Don't get all pissy and mad at me. I know it's been awhile since I've written you, but things have gotten busy the last six months. As you know, Momo and I have been trying for another baby, and we have some wonderful news! As of four months ago, Momo is pregnant! We don't know the gender, but I'll be sure to write you as soon as we know. I'm sure Daichi will be glad to have a new little brother or sister. By the way, Daichi loved the cake you sent, could you send us another one?

The older twins are doing alright there, right? Do you see them often enough? Or maybe they both have girl friends or are too busy at Tokyo University to see there favorite sister. Can you imagine Kichiro being a lawyer? He's not as serious as Colm is, so its still a big surprise he stuck it out this long. The family has suspicions that you are an influence. Well, if you see them, tell them the family says 'Hi' and that they should come up and visit for awhile. The younger twins are all right, although they're overly excited that this is their last year in high school. I keep telling them they shouldn't slack off, but they wont listen. Kazuhiro is a little better, but that might just be because he's older. I think Carney got whatever genes you have, he's been getting into fights recently over stupid stuff. Although, you set the record.

Anyway, dad wants you to visit soon. Sora's been having a tough time at school, maybe it'll be better in April when he's a first year in high school, but he's having a hard time with bullies. He doesn't tell us, but it's obvious with the bruises on his arm. Dad thought you could maybe teach him baseball since you have such an affinity for it, get him more into athletics to perk him up a bit. It would probably make him feel better to have his big sister around.

Everyone's busy with the farm nowadays. It seems like it's gotten a lot busier ever since you left. When was the last time you visited you little punk? Anyway, sis, I really think you should come up and visit soon. Dad's gotten depressed as of late, and I think seeing his little girl would make him feel better. Mom's been asking about you, too, she wants to see you. Come on little sister, we all miss you and those twins down there. Visit soon! Even if you have to drag the terrible two with you.

From, your wise and thoughtful elder brother,

Patrick.

P.S. Mom loved the coffee cake you sent her. She hopes that you bring another cake when you come to visit.

I reread the letter again and smiled to myself. _'Mom. I guess she did get the coffee cake. I wonder how she's doing?'_ I thought, rereading the letter. _'And Sora…Who the hell do these bastards think they are picking on Sora?!' _I thought angrily, getting up from my chair, and going to my room, digging around a drawer for a piece of paper, and a pen. I went back to the table, seeing Moo-Moo curled up on top of Patrick's letter. I smiled to myself, and scratched behind her ear. When was the last time I saw them anyway? Colm calls sometime, and Kichiro…Colm calls sometime. "Moo-Moo, what do you think I should back?" I asked her. She yawned and stretched out on the small pile of mail. "Gee, thanks for your input," I said sarcastically, poking her belly with the end of the pen. "You should lay off the rodents FYI, your getting fat," I said.

'_What should I write?'_ I thought to myself, getting up from the chair, and walking towards the stove. I should write about Colm and Kichiro obviously since he asked, but…why do I have to write about Kichiro?! That horny idiot. _'Okay, lets keep the letter short and sweet, so I can get back to dinner,'_ I thought, pouring the rice into the boiling water. I went back to the table after covering the pot, and leaned forward on the table and began my letter, while Moo-Moo's tail flicked back and forth.

Dear Patrick,

Wise and thoughtful huh? You didn't seem that wise when you hid in the bull pen with Hunter. And you didn't seem that thoughtful when you threw a rock at me on my ninth birthday. All things aside, I still love you.

I'm glad mom and Daichi liked the cakes I sent them. I hope you and Momo-chan at least got to taste it before the little monster devoured it. And I mean that in the most loving way I can on paper. He's like three now, right? Is he in that super possessive phase yet? Remember how Sora used to be with his toys, and feathers?

By the way, if Sora's having trouble with bullies, I'd be happy to come down to his school and see them. I think I can afford a second strike. It's not assault if I threaten them, right? I probably shouldn't, but we both know going after Sora's a suicide move.

I'll think about it some more. Being in Ikebukuro's making me think of consequences. Anyway, Colm and Kichiro are fine. Truth be told, I haven't heard from them in a couple weeks. Last I heard, Colm had a crush on a girl in his class, and Kichiro was, well, being Kichiro. Six years going after a law degree, and he hasn't changed a bit. He's the same perverted idiot he always was. Is.

Here I stop. Was he always like that? Then I think back to my last conversation with Kichiro three weeks ago that started with a phone call:

Kichiro: _Imouto-chan~! How's my lil sister doin'?_

Me: Hey Kichiro. Yeah, I'm doing great, but, umm, _why the __hell__ are you calling me at three' o'clock in the freaking morning?!_

Kichiro: _Oh, you know…I went out with friends for a party…and got kinder drunk._

Me: You're an idiot.

Kichiro: _No…your da idiot. Ha ha ha! Em…anyway…I followed this chick I met at the party home. Man, she was _smoking -hic- _hot! She was so freaky. I mean…like, first we're going at it on a table…then, like -_hic- _in the shower. Got steamy _real_ fast. Ya know what I mean? Huh? Huh? Babe was crazy. Wish I could remember her name -_hic- _though. Like to get a piece of that sweet ass again. _-hic-

Me: Kichiro, I am your sister. (No matter how many times I want to deny it). I'm not your friend. I'm not your brother. I'm your freaking sister! And if you don't shut up right know, I'll shove my foot so far up your ass, you'll wish that time I caught you sleeping with my friend was a freaking walk in the park!

I've known my fair share of horny people, which is why I have nothing but contempt for Chikan-san. That memory is forever burned in my mind, along with seeing him and my friend going at it in the shower during a sleepover. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Although, whacking his stuff fourteen times with a bag of ice when he was asleep, might have been me taking it too far. Although, he did sleep with her. And I saw more of my brother then I wanted to see in my entire lifetime.

'_Back to the letter,'_ I thought, shaking my head to get rid of the memory.

Yeah, same as he always is. Maybe worst. Anyways. Its good to hear that Momo-chan's pregnant again! A new little niece or nephew for me! Daichi's great and all but…really…the families over run with boys! It's only me, mom and Momo-chan! Momo-chan, if your reading this letter, please support your only sister-in-law in this.

About the visit.

Two months. I'll visit again in two months. Sometime in April, okay? It's about the only time I can ask for time off since it gets less busy with students starting school and all. And mom. Tell mom I'll send another cake soon. Her favorite. I love you guys.

From your favorite sister,

Amai.


	8. Chapter 8:Surprise Visit

'_Clearly I need to start rethinking my choices in life,'_ I thought, running around a corner in the barren alleyway, three burly men in yellow chasing after me. _'Just after I sent the letter too,'_ What seemed like hours ago, was in reality, less than twenty minutes ago, after I had sent my letter. One hour ago was the end of my shift at the bakery. And fifteen minutes ago was when I had, literally, ran into a man with a yellow scarf tied around his neck, and two more thugs behind him, also dressed in yellow. I knew I was in the wrong, which is why I apologized. The question is: why should I have to pay for the coffee he dumped on top of me, after I had apologized? Screw that.

Of course, being the dumb-ass I am, I kicked him in the crotch, and told him to choke on it. And of course being the thugs they are, called me a dumb bitch, and threatened to 'teach me a lesson' about messing with the Yellow Scarves. Which leads to where I am now. Running through the alleys, hat, hair and shirt stained in black coffee, it's formally hot temperature which scalded my skin at first, chilling me to the bone as it cooled. And, of course, three thugs who refused to stop chasing me in retribution for kicking the leader of the group where the sun don't shine.

"Why do I have to be such an idiot? I could've walked away, I could've mailed the letter _before_ work. But no, I had to make him a soprano and have them chase me threw the streets!" I huffed, looking briefly behind me to see where they were. Their leader, a muscular man with a nose ring and an undecipherable tattoo hidden on his arm, was holding a switch blade and running along side him was one of the shorter scrawnier men gripping a crowbar in between his hands. But where was the third one?

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to run with knives?!" I yelled back at him, almost running into a trash bin.

"Didn't your bitch mother ever teach you not to mess with the Yellow Scarves, Bitch?" the shorter one said, swinging his crowbar in a threatening manner, almost hitting the Muscle-Head.

"I'm not even from here! I don't know shit about any of you guys!" I yelled, turning another corner. "Ack!" I crashed into something long and hard, no pun intended, and landed hard on my ass. Looking up, I saw the third guy from earlier holding a wooden bat, smiling creepily. He too was muscular, and had black hair in a crew cut.

"Then we'll have to teach you why bitches like you don't mess with the Yellow Scarves," he said, raising his bat above his head, and swung it down towards me. He was cocky, so freaking sure of himself. With an unfair advantage of using a bat against a girl. Deciding it was unfair, I brought my leg up, and kicked at his hands wrapped around themselves on the bat. In pain, he released it, and clutched his crooked fingers to his stomach. Picking up the bat, I let it rest against my shoulder, looking at Crew-cut glare down at me. "Using a bat to hit a girl. Bastard, this is my game, and a bat is my favorite instrument." I said, stomping on his foot, causing him to bend over, clutching his foot, like it would happen in some kind of anime, and using that to my advantage, swung, the wood making contact with the side of his face. Needless to say, he was down for the count. Unfortunately, I forgot about the other two, so it was a surprise when I felt a burning sensation cut down the length of my left arm. Gripping it tightly in pain, I turned to see Muscle-Head and, who I now dubbed Short-Stack because even as a guy, he was shorter then me, standing behind me.

"You damn bitch, doing that, where the hell do you get off?!" he half yelled and half asked, swinging the blade at my face, almost catching the end of my nose, slicing upwards, and catching the edge of my hat 'til it cut a two inch line into the felt.

And then I got mad.

Not even waiting for Muscle-Head to make another attempt to swipe at me like a lazy cat, I brought my bat up and swung at his head dead center, almost knocking him into Short-Stack. He fell to the ground with a heavy thud, moaning and groaning, and trying to get up. Walking to his side, I stepped hard in the middle of his back, causing his arms to give out, and glare at me from a corner of his eye under the yellow scarf stained with specks of blood. "Its no wonder no one likes you. You want a boyfriend? Get real. Bitches like you should get used to being alone," he snarled. I didn't smile like I had won. I didn't glare at him for cutting my hat. The only reason he glared at me, was because I wore no expression. I don't like getting angry. I don't like hurting people, and making them angry. I don't want people to hate me. But really, I didn't care what this guy thought of me. So I simply swung the bat hard enough to knock him unconscious, and not cause any serious damage to his skull.

"Hey Short-Stack," I called, stepping off the guys back, and tossing the bat far down the alley. Not like I needed a blood stained bat anyway.

"Y-y-yeah?" he asked, his knees shaking together badly. His crowbar long forgotten on the ground. I guessed that he couldn't really use a thing like that anyway.

"Tell your friend to stay away from me. 'cause I don't want trouble. And tell your boss, to tell his crones to stay away too. I'm starting to get sick of the adrenaline," I said, walking towards the mouth of the alley. "R-right." he stuttered, taking out a cell phone, and dialing some group of numbers. I didn't stay around for the conversation. From there, I left the mouth of the alley, and tried to figure out which direction my apartment was. In a word, I felt _miserable._

_~DRRR~_

"Moo-Moo. I'm home," I said weakly, kicking my shoes off at the door. Way deep inside, I was glad. Mostly because I wasn't stopped at my door by Hotaka. If I was stopped, he would've seen my shirt. Before I reached home, I got tired of people staring at me, so I stopped in a drug store and attempted to wash most of the coffee out of my shirt and hat. My hair would have to wait until I took a shower when I got home. The before said washing caused my shirt, which coincidentally happened to be a message tee, AKA: funny saying on a white shirt, to become see through. The only consolation was that it was dark out by the time I got out of the store, and there weren't many people on the streets on the way home. Of course, the store clerk, being a teenage boy, had a lucky day when I came out of the bathroom. And although I had the urge to punch him in his zit filled face, I simply did not have the energy to do so. So, being the mature woman I am, I pinched my pressure point, and flipped him the finger on my way out, with him gawking every step of the way.

Peeling the still wet shirt from my body, and slipping off my pants, I made my way to my bedroom, depositing the clothes in the hamper along the wall, and fishing out of my dresser drawer a pair of pajama shorts and undergarments. Aka: bra and underwear. I felt hot and sticky because of the coffee and I didn't like it, so I decided to leave out a shirt. On my way to the bathroom, I looked around the living/dining room for Moo-Moo, and found her swatting at a piece of thread on a blanket that hung over the back of the couch. Laughing quietly to my self, I shut the door of the bathroom, and took off the rest of my clothes, leaving the clean ones on the counter.

Forty minutes later, after combing threw every lock of hair with shampoo to get the coffee out, scrubbing down my body with soap so get rid of its stickiness and waiting ten minutes for the shower head to stop spraying my with bursts of water at random moments, I exited the bathroom in clean clothes, a bandage around my arm, and a towel in hand to dry my hair. "What do you think Moo-Moo? Ya know how to get coffee out of felt?" I asked her, holding up my hat from where I had left it on the kitchen table. A meow and a purr was my response when she came over to me and rubbed herself against my leg. "I'll have to throw it in with the wash tomorrow. At least I got some of it out," I said, putting it back on the table, and rubbing my hair with the towel, went to the fridge.

Opening the freezer, I looked for the carton of ice cream I had stashed in the back. Digging it out of ice and packages of frozen corn, I got out a spoon and took the whole carton to the couch. Settling down in the cushions, relaxing before stabbing at the frozen ice cream before putting a chunk of frozen goodness in my mouth. _'Mom was right when she said ice cream makes everything better,'_ I thought to my self, scooping up another spoonful, and sticking it in my mouth, before laying back with my mead resting on the arm rest, my feet propped up on the other end. A meow by my head made me turn my head to look at Moo-Moo sitting with her face near mine. When she leaned forward and licked some ice cream that had gotten on my cheek, I understood that she was hungry. "Not now Moo-Moo. I'm tired and sad," I moaned, turning my head back away from her.

I don't know when I fell asleep exactly, but when I woke up, Moo-Moo was sleeping on my stomach. Half her body inside the circular box, the inside, from what I could see, being almost thoroughly licked clean. "Rough day Moo-Moo?" I asked her, my voice still groggy with sleep. _'Ugh, I sound like a guy.,_ I thought, detaching the cat from the carton, and sitting up. Then I realized why I woke up. Some guy was at the door, knocking loudly. Which probably meant he'd been here for awhile. He stopped knocking, and I heard some shuffling outside of the door. When I heard nothing else for awhile, I decided that the guy had left.

More knocking issued at the door a few minutes later, causing me to lose what little patients I had left. "I'm not here! Come back later!" I shouted at the door without turning my head. More knocking ensued afterwards. Probably because they knew I was in here. _'Idiot, of course they would. I _just _talked!'_

I already knew who was at the door though. I'd bet all the money I had that it was Hotaka at the door. The perv had a sixth sense for half naked girls. "I know who you are! I'm not opening the damn door!" I shouted, walking up to the door to look through the peep hole. But, being this kind of day, before I was even a foot away, the door suddenly flew off its hinges, and knocked into me full force and onto the concrete floor, making my head knock against it.

"What the-where is he?" I heard a voice from the doorway say, hearing, through my ringing ears, and dull sound of footsteps entering the room.

"Owww~" I whined from under the door. Trying to account for my limbs. Toes twitching, fingers flexing. I think I was still in one piece.

"Shit. I think the door hit him," the voice said, walking towards me.

"Heard his voice before," muttered a deep voice, walking into my apartment from the sound of his feet.

Eyes partially open, I worked to regain my full consciousness. The first thing I could properly see, was my door being lifted off my body, to reveal a certain dreadlocked man, and a smoking bartender. "Worst…day…ever," I muttered, before letting my eyes close shut, for the few minutes of confusion between Mr. Dreadlock and Mr. Bartender.

"This is the right apartment right? The door said 306," Mr. Dreadlock said, walking around the apartment, opening doors. Looking for a man wasn't there. Opening my eyes again, I struggled to get up, having to rely on the hand of Mr. Dreadlock, when he saw me. "Excuse me Miss. But does a Mitsukanei Hotaka live here?" he asked, turning away from me, a light blush on his face.

"Shit," I swore, remembering I was only wearing a bra. Stumbling back to my room, I raided my drawer and got out a t-shirt.

"Yeah, he lives here," I said, pulling the shirt over my head and walking over to where the bartender was standing, staring down at my cat who was staring up at him, a cigarette hanging on his lips.

"Do you know where he is?" Mr. Dreadlock asked, as I grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it out the open window.

"The hell? Why'd you do that?!" Mr. Bartender asked, looking up from my cat, and fixing a glare on me.

"My house, my rules," I said, picking up my cat, and placing her on top of my couch. "Oh, and one other thing. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?!" I shouted, baring my teeth like a dog, eyes darting between the two of them.

Surprise was evident on their faces as they stared at me. And it was Mr. Dreadlock who spoke first. "Umm, Miss-"

"Tachibana" I interrupted between clenched teeth, staring hard at him.

"Miss Tachibana, like I said, we're just looking for Mitsukanei Hotaka. So if you could tell us where he is, then we'd be happy to go," he said, putting up his hands in an 'I surrender' motion.

"He's in his apartment, so why are you two dumb-asses doing here?' I said, motioning to the door across the hall.

"Wait wait wait. So he doesn't live here?" he asked.

"No. Why the hell would you think that?" I asked, getting more annoyed by the minute.

"Well, our info tells us that he lives in 306. And your door _says_ 306," he said, pointing to the flat piece of wood that used to serve as a door.

"What? My door's supposed to be 30_9_. Not 306. Let me see it." I said, cooling down a little. Before flaring up again at the number nine forced upside down into a six. "That son of a bitch," I whispered, "He switched the numbers. Why would he switch the numbers?"

"Okay, you, start from the beginning. You, fix my door," I said, first pointing at Dreadlock, then bartender. "I want the whole freaking story, and I want my door fixed, and no one's leaving until my questions are answered…and my door is fixed."

_~DRRR~_

"So you two are debt collectors, who came here to collect money from Chikan-san. I don't even wanna know what that pervert spent the money on," I said, sitting cross-legged on the coffee table. The Dreadlocked man, who I now knew as Tom Tanaka, sat in front of me on my couch. The bartender stood at me door, working on getting it to move and stay in place like it used to. Moo-Moo staring up at him, her tail twitching.

"And, despite being here two other times in an attempt to collect money from him, you broke down my door, and fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book," I concluded, looking at him expectantly.

"Y-yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Tom said, fidgeting, probably because he thought he was smarter than this to fall for a cheap trick.

"Your not going to get money from him that easily. He's an ex-yakuza. He knows how to escape out of his apartment before trouble comes knocking. He's got a stash he's not willing to let go of. For this, you're going to need some outside help" I said, standing up and heading towards the door.

"Yeah, see, we're sorry we knocked you and your door down. But we can handle this on our own," Tom said, walking over to his friend who just finished putting the last screw in place.

"Answer me this Tom-san. Of the three times, including now, how much money have you gotten from the perv?" I asked, arms crossed in front of my chest. When he didn't answer, I smirked, and walked towards the door, and pushed them aside.

"Stay here and be quiet. And nice job fixing my door Shizu-chan," I remarked, swinging it open and closed. Although now it made a squeaking sound whenever it opened.

"_My Name isn't-_" he started to say, before I cut him off with a finger to my lips saying in a small buzzing voice,

"_Quiet! Or the plan will fail!_" fingers fluttering while I closed the door behind me. '_Operation: Seduce the Perv, is now under way,_' I thought to myself. Mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do.

Clearing my throat, I steeped up to the door, and knocked. I heard a brief crashing about inside, and thought back to my earlier comment about how he was probably gone by now, and thought myself, or better yet, him, and idiot. "Chikan-san~ I need your help with something~" I called through the locked door, trying my best to sound sexy. _'Bout' as sexy as a freaking crow,'_ I thought, hearing my voice come out lower and squeakier than expected.

"Amai-chan? Are you alone?" he said, beginning to unlock the door.

"Yeah. I wish I wasn't though. I've been having a bad day," I said, folding my hands behind my back. He opened the door a few inches, and stuck his head through, looking down both ends of the hall. When he was satisfied, he opened the door fully, and stood before. I held back a shudder at what I was doing, and continued on.

"Do you think you can help me? _Hotaka-san~" _I asked, wrapping my arms around one of his.

"I-I-I don't know if I c-can right now, Amai-chan," he said, practically panting when I pressed my chest against his arm.

"_Please Hotaka-kun?~" _I begged, looking up at him with big puppy dog eyes. _'One more minute. Just one measly minute. I can last that long,'_ I reassured myself.

"A-alright, come inside. Just give me a minute," he said, wiping away a trail of drool at the corner of his mouth.

"NO! I-I mean, no. Come inside my apartment. You know you want to," I said, pulling his arm towards my door.

He followed, a perverted grin on his face. I opened the door, and pushed him quickly inside, locking the door behind me while he lay on the floor, looking up at me, wiping away a small trail of blood from his nose. I couldn't tell if it was from when he landed on the floor, or when I performed my pitiful seduction. I smirked, looking up at the two men standing a few feet behind him. "What do you want boys? I've got tea, water and milk. I'm nothing if not a gracious host," I said, walking over to the kitchen, and getting out some cups. "Huh?" Hotaka said, looking behind him, only to discover to his dismay, the two debt collectors he had evaded two times before. "Tea,", "Milk," Tom and Shizu-chan said respectively.

"Got it," I said, poring water into the tea pot and turning the stove on to boil.

"You! You bitch! You tricked me! You were in cahoots with them!" Hotaka-I mean-Chikan-san yelled, getting up from the ground.

"I'm not in cahoots with anyone Chikan-san. I just don't want to give up the opportunity to see your perverted ass get kicked," I said cheerfully, retrieving a small glass bottle from the fridge, and setting it front of the bartender on the table.

"So, Mr. Mitsukanei. About all that money you owe," Tom said, standing in front of the groveling mess called Chikan-san*.

"I-I promise! I'll pay you! I just need a little more time," he said, kneeling in front of Tom. Shizuo seemed to grow a little irritated at this, and grabbed the bottle of milk off the table and begin to drink it.

"We gave you plenty of time. In fact, you eluded us twice already, so you should have the money by now," Tom said, crossing his arms, like he was scolding a child.

"Chikan-san, what happen to all the money you have stashed in your place?" I asked, getting out a glass and a box of tea bags from the cupboards.

"I lost it okay! Whatzzit to ya?!" he shouted, looking at me like I had betrayed him. Which, in a sense, I might've done that.

"No money? Sorry, but boss man needs it now. We already failed him twice in getting it from you. You know how the saying goes. 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," Tom said, turning and walking a few feet away from him.

"Fool me thrice and I kick your ass?" I guessed, pouring the water from the pot into the glass, and handing it off to Tom.

"Bingo," Tom said with a smirk.

"Fine, but can you guys try not to get blood on the floor? My day's been exhausting enough without having to clean up blood," I said, sitting down in the kitchen/dining room chair.

"We'll try, but no promises," he said, sliding into the chair next to me.

"You! You cant be serious! A few days! Just a few! I'll have the money by then!" Hotaka cried, clasping his hands together in a pleading manner. Shizuo, who until now had been sipping his milk quietly, slammed the glass down on the table, and stalked toward Hotaka. His presence was intimidating, and ferocious. The manner of change in the last few seconds was monumental. A quiet man turned ferocious beast. Stuck in a trance of his foreboding nature and pure rage, I snapped out of it when he threw Hotaka, literally, through the door. I turned towards his partner and gave him an irritated look.

"You're paying for that."

* Chikan means pervert.


	9. Chapter 9: My FML Moments

**Hello my lovely readers~ okay, that sounded fruity. Anyway, I would've gotten this out sooner, but…life happens, and then your computer brakes. But anyway, I've had this chapter done for awhile, and waited until Valentine's day to put it up, and I wanted it to coincide with the final chapter of Stupid Womanizer. So, Happy Valentine's Day!**

"I'm telling you that's what happened!" I yelled, pointing at the empty hole where my door used to be.

"And _I'm_ telling you, I don't believe you, Amai!" shouted the super. It had been one week since my attempt at the art of seduction, and the visit of a blonde jackass and his friend. Since then, my apartment's been open to the world. Literally. Three days ago, I was playing my violin, or fiddle as my dad and his side of the family call it, making sure I wasn't getting rusty in the last two weeks. Unfortunately, my door used to muffle the sounds of the violin. With the door open however…it was like I was giving a performance to the people next door. I just wish it was Taka-chan that heard it. Although he might've if he was home.

Twenty minutes after my practice ended, a man in a disheveled suit and tie walked into my apartment when I was putting the violin away after cleaning it. Judging from his attire, he just finished meeting up with Kimi Monowa. He handed me two thousand yen, and told me I made the sex more…sensual, and that I should play it again next time. I would've thrown the money in his face and told him to shove it up his ass, but he left before I could say anything…and I wanted the money. I am ashamed of myself, but not so ashamed to have ordered a big meal at Ichinozu, one of my favorite restaurants. Ichinozu is a ramen shop. As well as one of the few places that lets me in anymore.

"This is the third time, Amai. The THIRD TIME!" he yelled, his face growing an unusual shade of purple.

"And this time, it's not…my…fault." I said calmly. I didn't need to pinch my ear for this. I get mad at him, and I lose a place to stay.

"Okay, let's go over it one more time." he conceded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The blonde bartender, and his dreadlocked friend, knocked your door down, asked for Mr. Mitsukanei, and threw him through your door?!" he said, growing angry again.

"Why is that so hard to understand? You've lived in this city longer than I have. You know Shizu-chan, right?" I asked, hands on my hips.

"Screw it, I'm tired of your attitude. How 'bout this. Pay for the door, and I'll take care of any problem you have with this apartment." he said, staring daggers at me for his defeat.

The reason for this is because I've sent him letters from inside the building, since he lives here, about certain…'complaints' I've had about the apartment. I.e. the ever growing water stains on the ceiling. Most everything in my apartment is made from either wood, plaster, or plain, old cement. The floor and two feet up the walls being cement. From two feet up to the ceiling being wood, and the ceiling being plaster. Complaints might be too strong a word. Lets call it concerns. Like Chicken Little. The sky might fall. The sky being my ceiling. It helped a little that I lived on the top floor of a three floor apartment death trap, so if the ceiling did fall, the top apartment wouldn't crush me or Moo-Moo.

"Tch, fine. Well, first off, the shower faucet in the bathroom turns on by itself, and when in use, it turns off sporadically. Second-" I said, before he raised up a hand to stop me from speaking on.

"No-no. I said any _problem_, not problem-_s_." he said, writing something down on his clipboard, probably the shower faucet problem, before turning away from me and walking towards the door way. "By the way, it's five thousand yen for the door. Pay it by next Tuesday if you want your shower fixed." he said, leaving the room, and walking don the hall.

'_Ripping me off. Last time it was twenty-five hundred yen.'_ I thought, opening the door and letting Moo-Moo out of my room. For a rat infested apartment, they didn't allow animals here. Ironic? Yes. Breaking the rules? Yeah right. A few weeks here, and she cut the pest problem down by, like…20%? Maybe more, I'm not here during the day.

'_Speaking of which…'_ I thought, looking at the clock on the stove. And after seeing it blink 12:00 for the forth time, got my cell phone out of my pocket and saw it was 10:27. Wait. _10:27?!_ "Shit! Moo-Moo, I gotta go. Be a good kitty while I'm gone." I shouted over my shoulder, grabbing my hat from the table and my coat from off the back of a chair. "Don't let the super see you!"

_~DRRR~_

"Hey Masaomi, are you ever gonna hit on girls your own age?" I asked, handing him back his change, and leaning on the glass case.

"Amai, that would be a reality I don't want to live in." He getting deadly serious while pocketing the change, before breaking into his goofy, flirty self. "Not while I have my boobylicious Amai-chan and Anri-chan!" he cried, throwing his hands up in the air, turning to look at Mikado, and who I supposed was Anri.

"Masaomi! Please don't say that to Anri-san.-or Amai-chan!" Mikado said, adding me a second too late.

"It's fine Mikado-san, it's been a while since I got a…I'm gonna go ahead and call it a compliment-from a semi-pervert." I said, waving him off before getting out a broom and moving around the counter.

"What do you mean semi-pervert?!" cried Masaomi, feigning being wounded.

"Sorry sorry, I meant horny teenage boy." I laughed, sweeping in front of the door, watching the people walk by on the sidewalk. "Oh, and it's nice to meet you Sonohara-san. Sorry about the earlier conversation, it's something we've done since I meet Masaomi-kun." I said to her, shaking her hand before going to throw away the dirt.

"It's nice to meet you too Tachibana-san. Kida-kun has told me a lot about you." she said quietly, shaking my hand before going back to eating her bento with Mikado at one of the tables, while Masaomi chose to sit on top of the display case.

"Really. What'd he say?" I asked, before shoving him off the counter, and cleaning off the spot where his butt had previously been.

"I just said you're the only girl I know who's a total bad-ass, aaaand who doesn't give a damn what anyone thinks about them." he said, sitting beside Mikado, trying to steal a bit of something from his bento. I burst out laughing, if not because I found his ass-kissery hilarious.

"Okay you little punks, and Anri, get outta here before class starts." I said, pushing the guys towards the doors, and leaving Anri to follow meekly behind them. "Bye Sonohara-san, come back anytime, okay?" I said, waving them goodbye from the door.

"Good-bye Tachibana-san." she said, waving back a little. After they disappeared from sight, by which I mean turn a corner, I backed up into the store and closed the door, turning around, and practically jumped out of my skin, when I saw Izaya lounging against the counter with a smirk on his wolfish face.

"Making new acquaintances are we Tachibana-san?" he asked, grin growing wider.

"How the hell did you-? Never mind." I said, accepting it without a fight.

"So I understand that a certain debt collection duo stopped by your apartment. I didn't know you have debts." he said, raising an eyebrow, like he didn't know.

"Yeah, a student loan. I went back to school to get a degree in ass-kicking," I said, half threatening, and half humoring him, "look, they came looking for a neighbor of mine, and mistook my door for his. End of story, okay?" I said, moving behind the counter.

"Hmph. How uninteresting. Say, how about we play a game, Amai-chan?" he asked, leaning on the counter casually.

"Not while I'm working. Miss Yuumi would disapprove." I told him, placing the broom back in its' corner.

"Come on Amai, only a little wont hurt you. Just try it. It'll be fun." he said, smirking that wolf smile again.

"What are you trying to do? Sell me drugs? Tch, fine. One game, and you leave me alone, all right?" I said, pointing a finger in his face, before getting out a spray bottle and rag, and moving outside to wash the window.

"Deal! The game is…Twenty Questions!" he said pausing for dramatic effect, following behind me outside.

"What's the point? You already know me, right?" I asked, spraying the window.

"But that's the point. I want to know more about you Amai-chan." he said, leaning a shoulder against the glass.

"Careful. I already told you not to get familiar with me Orihara-san." I said, pointing the nozzle at him, finger on the spray bottle trigger.

"Heh. Question one:" he said, holding up a finger, disregarding my threat. "What Prefecture are you from?"

"Hokkaido Prefecture."

"Good. Question Two: How old are you?"

"23."

"What city were you born in?"

"Around Hakodate." _'Is twenty questions supposed to be this personal?'_

Before he could ask the next question, a resounding crash of metal on concrete was heard over the normal din. Looking over my shoulder towards the sound of the crash, I saw just in time, a vending machine rising into the air before plummeting to earth, hidden behind buildings over a mile away. An eager grin spread on my face, and had it not been for the fact that I was in the middle of my shift, I would rushed over immediately. "Brute. Always making a mess." muttered Izaya with a slight twitch of his lips formed into a frown, looking in the same direction as me.

"What? You know him or something?" I asked, tearing my eyes away to look at him.

"Yes, I do. Tell me something Amai-chan, why do you want to know who it is so badly?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Just curiosity. And you can save me the phrase, cause like a cat, I do have nine lives, in terms of speaking, I'm lucky." I said, grinning a Cheshire cat smile at him.

"Hmmm, what would happen once you know who it is Amai-chan? What would you do after knowing?" he asked. I didn't answer, choosing instead to ignore him and step on tip toes to reach the top of the window. A hand gripped my wrist, right where the scars from the cuffs where still healing, causing me to wince at the sting.

"Consider these questions part of the game and answer them." he said, his tone of voice dropping a few levels. I eyed him for a few seconds before tugging my arm back and releasing his grasp.

"It's curiosity. I just want to know." I repeated. Staring at my reflection in the glass.

"What will you do after? Do nothing? Wont it be just a waste of time?" he asked close to my ear. _'Eight down. Twelve to go.'_ I thought.

"Then…then…I don't know! I don't think out a lotta stuff. Only super important stuff. I just want to see who it is." I said, getting frustrated. _'And see if their as lonely as I am.'_ I added in my mind.

The questions ranged on for twelve more questions, and by the end, he knew high school hell, and my neighbors. But not _that. _No, never _that. _"Hey Orihara-san, can I ask you a question? What was the point of that game anyway?" I asked him when it seemed like we had been standing out side for an hour.

"I like to know more about my dear little pawns before I play with them. It was interesting talking to you Amai-chan." he said, waving a little before disappearing altogether.

'_That was kind of nice, being able to talk to someone like tha-pawn? Pawn. PAWN?!'_ I thought. "Get back here you little-" I started to shout, before a newspaper hit me on the head.

"Amai! Leave it alone for once." Miss Yuumi said, shaking the newspaper at me, a stern look in her eyes as she peered up at me over her half-moon glasses.

"But Miss Yuumi, he-" I started, before she cut me off.

"No! No excuses. Now please get back in the shop, and leave it alone." she said, a little exasperated, wiping a hand over her face, sighing.

"Miss Yuumi? Is something…wrong?" I asked her, gently leading her back inside the comfort of her shop.

"Amai, be a dear and get me some water from the kitchen." she sighed, sitting down at one of the tables. When I came back, her glasses were off and she was rubbing her temples. Never a good sign for Miss Yuumi. As soon as I set the glass down in front of her and sat down across from her she started to speak. "Sit down Amai, we need to talk-Oh, good girl. Good sit." she said, before sighing again and averting her eyes, taking a drink from the glass.

"Miss Yuumi…you're not going to…I mean…fire me, are you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Let me talk for now Amai, it'll be easier to understand." she said, taking another drink from her water. _'Oh God. Oh no! please…please don't fire me! I need this job!'_ I thought to myself, praying she wouldn't.

"Last night, I received a call from my daughter. She has…a child. I'm beyond ecstatic to know that I have a grand child, but…she does not know who the father is, neither does she have the proper funds to support the child. I suggested to her that she come work in the bakery until she finds a proper job inside of Tokyo. She'll be paid of course, but…I cant afford to pay both of you equally." she said, hands folded in front of her as she looked at me for some kind of signal of understanding.

"I don't understand. Am I fired?" I finally asked her after several moments of silence.

"No no. You're not fired. Both of you will be working here. But you'll both be part time at half pay each. I'm sorry Amai, but I need to help my daughter. She's stubborn, she wont accept charity from her own parents! And she's supporting someone now. She needs the money desperately. Please tell me you understand." she said grasping my hands, searching my eyes.

What could I say? What could I possibly say to this kind old woman who gave me a job when I was running out of time? To someone who's child needed help supporting their child? "I…I understand…Miss Yuumi. The shift change…when does she start?" I asked trying to smile.

"Thank you! Thank you Amai! You don't know what this means to me! She'll be arriving next week, we'll decide then the hours you both shall work. Thank you Amai!" she cried, standing up from her chair, and hugging me from across the table. I wrapped my arms around her small frame and when she let go and hurried to the kitchen to call her daughter, I sat still in my chair. Thinking. Calculating. Half my pay? I'd be out hundreds each month. The way it was now, my savings were miniscule, and it would run out in less than two months.

'_Three options. One: get another part time job. Two: return home, and admit defeat. Or One-point-Five: take out a loan until I find a another job. Before the week runs out, I should focus my free time on finding another job. Maybe I should ask Taka-chan if there are any openings where he works.' _

"Hey! Tachibana-san! You there? We wanna buy something."

At the sound of a customers voice, I snapped out of my planning, and got up from my seat. Looking at the clock on the wall, I noticed it was four hours until closing time. Maybe six hours until Taka-chan woke up for his job. I could maybe ask him then. "Welcome to Sakura Bakery. How may I help you?"

_~DRRR~_

"See you tomorrow Miss Yuumi." I shouted into the shop, before letting the door swing behind me as I started home. Passing near dark shops, and random pedestrians on the side walks, I thought again of the few plans I had to keep afloat.

'_I'll ask Taka-chan if there's an opening at his job, but…he works in a gay bar. Is it for guys? Or is it girls too?…I don't know how I would feel if a girl hit on me though. It would be something new, that's for sure. And it's not like I'm against gays. My neighbor is gay. My brother is gay. Yeah…I'll be fine.'_

By the time I got home, it was about the same time Taka-chan was leaving for work. I know this because when I went to knock on his door, he opened it and crashed right into me in his haste. "Amai! What is it? Why are you crashing into my when I need to leave for work?" he asked, a little irritated that his hair was minuscule-y messed up. "U-umm, that's the thing Taka-chan…umm, is there…umm" I started, trying to think of what I was going to say. Forgetting everything I thought up on the way home.

"What is it? Spit it out, I don't have all night." he said, crossing his arms in front of his flat chest, and tapping the toe of his heeled shoe impatiently.

"Are there…are there any…is there a job up for grabs where you work?!" I shouted, looking up at him with the one weapon I could use against him. Huge chibi water filled eyes. I learned this technique when I was eight-years-old, and learned Patrick was keeping a stash of sweets under his mattress. To this day, I have used this technique when I was in need of something bad. And for this, I needed a second job. Although, it might've worked if Taka-chan hadn't been in so much of a rush.

"I'm sorry Amai-chan, I really need to get to work, as it is I'm running late. I'll talk to you tomorrow if I've got the time." he said, rushing past me towards the stairwell. Sighing in defeat, I walked the short was back to my apartment, stopping only when I heard Taka-chan's voice again.

"I'll ask the manager, but don't get you hope's up. He usually employs males only. 'course you know why. Hehe." he giggled, turning and partially running down the stairwell.

"Don't get my hopes up. Right. I can do that. Don't get my hopes up don't get my hopes." I chanted, as I turned back around, and walked into my door-less apartment. "Yes!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in accomplishment. _'How can I get my hopes up when this is the most fantastic news?! Nothing's gonna get me down now.' _I thought, picking Moo-Moo up off my table, and kissing the top of her head over and over.

"Good news Amai-chan?" asked a masculine voice. I ceased kissing my cat, and looked at my surroundings a little more closely. Upon inspection, I found three things wrong in my apartment. One: the dreadlocked man and his blonde accomplice were back in my apartment. Two: Chikan-san was sitting on my couch. And three: my bedroom door was open. I knew the answer to the question that is: "Why is the Blonde jack-ass and his friend in my apartment?", the answer was probably Chikan-san. The question: "Why is Chikan-can and the debt collector duo in my apartment?", did not have an answer yet. And the last one: "Why is my bedroom door open? I'm sure I closed it, and I know cats don't have opposable thumbs." for that answer, I'm 70% sure it had something to do with Chikan-san. Which, if I was correct, would mean that I would have to burn some of my clothes.

"Mac soith. _Cad a rinne mé ag dul seo?!_"(Son of a bitch. What did I do to deserve this?!) I shouted up at the ceiling.


	10. Chapter 10: What did I do?

"_Cad é atá tú ag déanamh bastards anseo?!"_ I yelled, Moo-Moo jumping from my arms onto the wooden table. _'Why the hell are these guys in my apartment?' _I thought, looking from one face to another, casting a brief glance at Chikan-san.

"Hey Amai-chan, I've noticed you've been saying shit like that for awhile, what language is that anyway?" Chikan-san said, looking over his shoulder at me while lounging on my couch.

"It's Irish, and I said, '_What are you bastards doing here?!_'" I yelled, going over to Blondie. "And what did I say about smoking in here? Either put it out or hang out the window." I said, pointing him towards the cardboard covered window.

Unbelievingly, and surprisingly, he went straight to the window without question and pulled it up, sitting on the window sill and leaning back until the smoke was drifting away outside.

"The hell? Tch, whatever. Just don't fall, I don't have insurance here." I said, turning my back to him to face his dreadlocked friend. "And you. Did you guys mistake the number on my nonexistent door? Which, by the way, you still owe me ten thousand yen for!" I said, hands on my hips, staring him…up. _'God I hate being short.'_ I thought, trying to look tough..

"I heard it was five thousand yen Amai-chan" Chikan-san said, giving me a cross look as if I'd done something wrong.

"They broke my door twice, so they owe me double the cost. Anyway, start talking Dreadlock." I said, not giving Chikan-san a single glance, all the while glaring at the dreadlocked man before me, and briefly looking at the bartender to make sure he hadn't fallen out the window yet.

"Listen, I can explain. See, this time we knew which room was his because yours was, you know…umm…" he said trailing off a bit, looking sheepishly at the doorway.

"Gone? Broken? Nonexistent like your ass is gonna be if you don't get to the point quicker?" I asked, cracking my knuckles and glaring up at him from under the rim of my fedora.

"Right right, see, we heard a sound coming from your bedroom so we kind of went in and found him in your room." Tom said, rubbing the back of his neck, looking towards my bedroom.

"Oh God. What was he doing?" I asked, not sure which I was more scared of. Knowing the answer or not knowing the answer…not knowing would be worse. If I didn't know what he touched, what would I know to burn?

"He was trying to hide in your closet, but he wasn't successful obviously." Tom said, sticking his thumb out in Chikan-san's general direction.

"Stupid cat gave me away." muttered Chikan-san, glaring at the black and white cat as she went to sit on the coffee table.

"Shut it Chikan-san. What were you doing in my apartment in the first place?" I asked him, before grabbing his arm and pulling him off my couch, whipping him towards the doorway. He stumbled a bit, and spun around, an angry look on his lecherous face.

"Hey hey hey, I was just tryin' to hide from these guys. Come on, help me out, we're neighbors aren't we?" he said, glaring at me.

"No, I'm a person, and you're a pervert, and them's two bitches are debt collectors." I said, earning a quick "Hey!" from Mr. Dreadlock, "So get all your asses out of my apartment before I-" I said, before my cell phone started ringing. Reaching into my pocket, I took out my cell and looked at the screen before I breathed out a sigh of frustration before answering.

"Oh great. Hey Kichiro! What's up?" I asked into the phone, hoping to God he wasn't drunk dialing again.

"_Hey sissy! Whaterya doin'?"_ he slurred into the phone before going into a spiel of obnoxious laughter. At that moment, there was a sound that sounded like muffled laughter coming from the wall that bordered Kimi's apartment. Weird.

"Housing a pervert, a smoker and a guy in dreadlocks. P.S. Your drunk dialing again you idiot." I said, sitting down on my couch and propping my feet up on the small coffee table while Tom "talked" to Chikan-san.

"_Yeeeeah. Hey-hic-can you uh pick me-hic-up? I'm at this girl's apart-hic-apartment." _he said, before bursting into loud laughter again. Again the same sound came from Kimi's apartment, and my suspicions began to grow.

"Hey Kichiro? What's this girl's name?" I asked him, getting up from the couch and going into my bedroom, pressing my ear against the back wall, and listening carefully.

"_It's…umm…uh…hey ah…what's your name again?" _he asked away from the phone. The girl gave a reply I could not hear and my blood ran cold before it began to boil when he said her name. _"Her name's is Kimi Monowa-hic- AHAHAHA!" _he laughed.

Closing the phone quietly, and putting it in my pocket, I walked out of my room and put my hat on the kitchen table. Pushing past Tom and Chikan-san, I walked out of my apartment, and towards the door I vowed never to go to, or knock on. Knocking on the door politely, I waited until Kimi opened the door.

"Hello Tachibana-san. What are you looking for?" she said, answering the door in a red lace bra and panties.

"I'm looking for a drunk dumbass, goes by the name of Kichiro?" I said, looking past her into the apartment. _'Is mine the only apartment that looks like shit? Granted hers isn't exactly clean, but still.'_ I thought, spotting my brother looking for his pants…and underwear. Not the first time I had seen my brother's naked rear end, but I still didn't want to see it. Especially in Kimi's apartment.

"Hey bro. D'you need help?" I asked, sliding past Kimi and into her apartment, picking up a pair of boxers off the ground and throwing them at him.

"Hey sissy! Yer here already? Man that was-hic-quick." he slurred, trying to hug me while his underwear was still on his head, and his privets were still exposed.

"Idiot, I live next door to your latest one night stand." I said, pushing him away while looking for his pants.

My brother, as well as his twin Colm, has auburn hair, and light green eyes, as well as a pale complexion and freckles on his nose. They both have a thin stature and are several inches taller than I am. Both of them are baby faced, half-Irish twins, but Kichiro uses his looks to his advantage. Colm had always been a little quiet and uncomfortable around crowds and Kichiro was the social butterfly and man whore. The only way to tell them apart are their opposite personalities.

"Really Amai-chan? I didn't-hic-know that." he said, jumping on one leg while trying to get his underwear on.

"How much does he owe you Monowa-san?" I asked Kimi, picking Kichiro's shirt up off a lamp shade and throwing it at his head before it fell to the floor next to his jeans.

"The look on your face is all the payment I need Amai-chan." Kimi smirked, looking over my shoulder and winking at my brother, causing him to laugh hysterically. Which, of course, pissed me off.

I glared at her and grabbed Kichiro's arm, pinching my ear lobe briefly enough so I still had incentive to kick his ass if need be, and dragged him out of the apartment while he was trying to get his pants on, Kimi closing the door after blowing a kiss at Kichiro, pissing me off more.

"Your 26 years old, you're a law student, and you have the nerve to pull this kind of shit every freaking week?!" I yelled, pushing him into my apartment. He tripped over a leg of his pants, and fell face first onto the couch. While I'd been gone, the standing hadn't changed a bit. Chikan-san was groveling on the ground, and Tom was looking down on him, stepping on his head. The only thing that had changed, was that Blondie had left the window sill and was holding my cat while she purred contentedly.

'_Some guard cat she is.'_ I thought, going over to the fridge and getting out a bottle of water. The sink had begun to act up, and rather than let myself and my clothes get drenched with water, I'd opted to buy bottled water until I "complained" to the super about the faucet.

"Gather round ye lads and lasses, set ye for a while, and hearkin to me mournful tale about the Emerald Isle…" Kichiro said, singing drunkenly a song our father often sang when he was drinking and reminiscing with our uncles, his brothers. Our father is a very sweet and kind man, and rarely ever drinks or gets drunk. Although, all of this is thrown out the window whenever dad's three brothers visit our farm. He's not a mean drunk, on the contrary, he's the elusive fun drunk, all laughs and giggles, and singing off key.

"You have class tomorrow, why are you out drinking and…drinking and…why are you drinking again dumbass?!" I whined, shoving the bottle of water in his face, looking briefly at Chikan-san when he cried out, turning my attention back to my brother when I saw he was still getting talked down to by Tom-san. Shizuo had let my cat jump from his arms and moved closer to Tom. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him curl his hands into fists, shoving them deep into his pockets. A look of annoyance crossed his face, and I briefly considered going over to him to either get my cat, who was now rubbing up against his trousers, affectionately despite his growing anger at the groveling pervert in front of him, or to trigger his pressure point and bring him into a state of peace and tranquility.

It sounds fruity, but this is what it always felt like to me. But I disregarded my choices, considering that A) this was kind of his job…I think, and B) Moo-Moo had already caught onto Shizuo's anger, and had begun to distance herself from him. Moo-Moo jumped from the concrete floor to the top of the couch, and sniffed at the top of my brothers head. Ruffling his short auburn hair with her nose before sneezing, probably because the alcohol had either soaked through his head into his hair after a few years of drinking, or, more likely, he had gotten into another fight at a bar.

"Woah. Is that a cow?" he asked, squinting at Moo-Moo, nursing the bottle of water like a newborn babe.

"Yes, because cows are one foot tall, have long, furry tails, and purr. Drink your water idiot. It'll dilute some of the alcohol on your brain." I said, shoving his head playfully. Often, when my brothers did something stupid, like missing the obvious, or when we were young, lock themselves in the bull pen, I would call them an idiot, or, more recently, dumbass. It was a term they were used to, and they all knew I meant nothing by it. It was a playful term that I used in retaliation to them calling me a tomboy, or, in my older twin brothers' case, 'Bipolar Fireball.' I had not yet, nor never will, tell the rest of my family the city's name for me, and if Colm and Kichiro know what's good for them, neither will they.

"I'm gonna call Colm so he can pick you up." I said, getting my cell phone out and scrolling through my contacts. Not surprisingly, most, if not all, were family members. _'Man I need friends.'_ I thought pressing the call button on the phone.

"No noooo! Amai-chan! Cant I stay heeeeere?!" he whined, tilting his head back too far until he fell back against the arm rest of the couch, the water almost falling out of his hand before he grabbed onto it with both hands started nursing from it again.

"Hey, guys, when are you gonna lea-" I said, turning around to face them, seeing the blonde bartender snap and grip Hotaka by the back of his shirt, before hurling him into the air. And, unfortunately, into my table. Which, unfortunately, had my hat on top of it.

"_H-h-hello. Th-this is C-C-Colm."_ a voice stuttered into the receiver.

"I'm sorry Colm. I'll have to call you back in fifteen minutes." I said into the phone, keeping my voice calm, staring at the pile of wood, pervert and crushed red felt on my floor.

"_Amai imouto-chan? A-a-alright."_ Colm stuttered before hanging up. I closed the phone quietly, as I had done earlier tonight, and placed it in my pocket. Walking over to Chikan-san, I pulled my hat out from under his unconscious body, and reshaped it, looking for any damages made to the slightly worn fabric. I had had this hat for two years, my brother, seven years before he gave it to me. It as the hat he wore when he got into college, it was the hat he wore hen he met Momo-chan, it was the hat he wore when he got married, and it was the hat I wore when I got a job that saved me from going back home in shame. My hat now had a long tear down the center on top, at least three inches long and jagged.

"Imouto-chan. That hat." Kichiro whispered, staring at it with wide eyes. There were only a choice few people who know how much this hat means to me, Kichiro being one of them.

"You come into my home, and I let you stay out of hospitality. And you repay me by destroying my things. You have no right. _You have no right!_" I yelled, gripping my hat between my hands, as I turned my body to stare angrily up at the blonde. "What did I ever do to ya huh? What did I do to deserve this shit?!"

The anger had not yet died out of his eyes, and blue tinted sunglasses had slipped down his nose, revealing two brown, angry eyes. A fleeting thought entered my mind, and before I could think on what I had thought, there was a knock on the wall behind me. Turning my eyes away from Shizuo, I saw that Monowa-san had entered my apartment. She stood now dressed in a long black robe, hugging her figure tightly, leaning against the concrete/wood wall, bare feet now clad in red slippers as she knocked against the wood with her knuckles, a blank expression on her face.

"Tachibana-san, do you have anymore of those cigarettes you stole from Heiwajima-san? I could really go for one right now." she said in her sultry voice. It was then that I was clearly convinced of Monowa's hatred for me. Surely she could she Shizuo, who was a good head or so taller than me, and surely, even my brother, who was drunk enough to sleep with her, could feel the electrical charge in the air, and the waves of anger rolling off of Shizuo as he lifted me into the air by the collar of my shirt.

I'm scared of a lot of things. Tarantulas, big snakes, getting hit by a car when I least expect it-not like I'd expect it though, my old teacher, Hunter-my family's old bull with a hell-of-a-temper, and that demon my brothers told me about to get me to respect them-not like I buy into that of course, and now I had one more thing to be scared of. How Shizuo reacted when he found out I stole his cigarettes. I'd never actually been afraid of angry men, what with my three older brothers, my three uncles, and my father when my brothers did something stupid, or I got into trouble; it was a kind of anger that I was used to, or just found non-threatening. This anger, it was different, fueled by hate? No. Rage? Same thing as anger. Fueled by the fact I had stolen from him? Pick pocketed him? Yes, yes, and one more time, _yes_! But…along with being scared, what was this awe I felt? This guy was holding me up by the collar of my shirt, my feet dangling maybe two feet up in the air, his eyes wide and angry, his teeth bared like a ferocious animal, shaking me back and forth as he asked me my reasons why, and I was in awe of him? What is wrong with me?

"He-hey! What're ya doin' to my sister?!" Kichiro asked, sobering up a bit. Any other time when he wasn't drunk, I'm sure he would have tried to get the blonde to put me down, but since he was drunk, he was pretty much useless, cradling the half-empty water bottle, and hugging the back of the couch he was sitting on, Moo-Moo standing next to him on top of the couch, her back arched and her fur on end as she hissed at what was happening around her.

"Shizuo, come on just put her down!" Tanaka-san said slowly approaching the two of us. I doubt Shizuo could even hear him, seeing as how his attention was focused on me unfortunately.

"Who do you think you are huh? Stealing from somebody. Isn't that against the law or something?" Shizuo said, blatantly ignoring Tanaka-san, as he approached his side with open palms raised.

"Who do _you_ thing you are? Threatening a girl. How low." I said defiantly. _'Why cant I keep my big mouth shut?' _I thought, gripping his wrists in an attempt to hold myself up. _'Where does this guy get his strength anyway?'_ I thought, inching my hands down his arms, and closer to his head, _'If I can reach his ears, then I can get him to put me down.'_

"What did I ever do to your huh?" he asked, pulling me closer to him, so close our noses were a mere inch apart, and I could smell the nicotine and ash on his breath from the cigarettes he smoked so often.

I snapped. What did he do? Was he serious? Did he not remember what happened last week or a few minutes ago? Forget trying to calm him down. Screw that shit. I'm through being nice for these guys.

"You seriously just asked that? What did I ever do to you? _what did I ever do to you guys to deserve this kind of treatment?!_ You're in my home! Not the other way around. You do not come in here, break my door _twice_, break my table, and _wreck my precious hat!_ Now put me down or I'll make you put me down and call the cops on your asses!" I yelled, gripping his wrists and glaring down at his wide-eyed expression. No one moved, no one did anything. Even Kimi stayed still and silent against the wall, and the only noise that could be heard, was my rough breathing, and Moo-Moo's continued hissing. Wordlessly, Shizuo put me back down on the ground.

"Stop acting like a three-year-old. I'm sorry I stole your cigarettes, but that's no way for you to act. Now get out of my apartment. _All_ of you." I said, looking pointedly at Tanaka-san, and an awakening Chikan-san, including Monowa-san. Shizuo silently nodded, and stalked past me out the door, hands shoved deep into his pockets, and his back hunched. Kimi walked out of my apartment leisurely, supporting a stumbling Chikan-san back to his own apartment.

"Sorry for the damages. We'll try to steer clear of your place next time we're here." Tanaka-san said, handing me fifteen hundred yen for the damages Shizuo had made.

"Yeah." was my simple reply as he walked out of my apartment, following his friend outside.

"Do I really have to go Amai imouto-chan?" Kichiro asked from the couch, pulling a puppy dog face in my direction.

I sighed, running a hand through my long red hair, and pocketing the money. I flipped open my cell, and called Colm, telling him that Kichiro would be staying at my place tonight, and that he would be back late in the morning. Colm gave me a slightly stuttered okay, and quietly hung up.

'_One of these days, I'd should hang out with Colm.' _I thought, closing my phone, and getting out an extra blanket from the closet in my room. When I came back out, Kichiro had fallen asleep, using my cat to cuddle up against.

'_Why are boys so cute when they sleep?'_ I thought, draping the blanket on top of him, and getting out my phone to take a picture.

"And save." I said out loud, before saying good night to Kichiro, ruffling his short-ish hair a bit before going back to my room and closing the door quietly, getting dressed for bed in the dark

So much stress today. It's a relief to just lie in bed and look at the stars through my window. And as I was falling asleep, a thought from earlier came into my mind, and this time, I was fast enough to catch it.

'_He has pretty eyes.'_


	11. Chapter 11: Day Out

I couldn't sleep. At least, not anymore. Usually, my alarm clock is the first thing I hear in the morning, followed by, more recently, Moo-Moo's constant meowing. I swear, she couldn't wait for me to leave in the morning. Today was no less unusual, except for, perhaps, the absence of my alarm clock, which, until this morning, had sat next to my futon, and the ringing of my cell phone.

"Moo-Moo, can you get that?" I asked, covering my head with my pillow, and turning away from the direction my cell was in. She meowed in response and stepped onto my pillow-covered head, turning in circles, before plopping down.

"Moo-Moo, you've gotten fat." I said, lifting her off my head and setting her down next to me, before picking up my phone.

"Morning. This is Amai. Who the hell is this?" I asked, partially crabby, if not entirely crabby, that my sleep was interrupted.

"_Is that how you answer your phone now, Amai?" _Miss Yuumi asked crossly.

"Miss Yuumi? How come your calling me? Wait-what time is it?!" I asked, jumping up out of my covers and crawling around on the floor trying to locate my clock.

"_It's 11:38 in the morning. Why are you not here? Where are you? Are you sick? Is it because of what I told you yesterday?" _she asked, sounding a little sad towards the end.

"No-No, I just over slept because my alarm clock went missing. And my brother came to my apartment last night all drunk and I stayed up late. And now I have this massive headache. Ugh, when he wakes up I'm going to kill him if the hangover doesn't." I said angrily, staring daggers at my closed door.

"_Maybe you should take the day off today, Amai. I can handle things here on my own."_ she said, sighing a bit before picking up a slightly happy tone towards the end. Maybe she felt sorry for me? I know I felt sorry for me.

"Are you sure? I can come in and stay late." I said, getting out of my sweatpants and pulling on the jeans I had worn yesterday.

"_No, it sounds like you are under stress. And besides, I don't want you coming in when your like that. Causes too much fuss." _she said. I could almost see her finger wagging at me like I was a child getting scolded.

"Thanks Miss Yuumi. I promise to come in tomorrow." I said, before saying good bye, and hanging up.

Without the din of a cell phone, and the meowing of my cat, I heard the quiet, if not muffled sound of my alarm clock coming from my dresser drawer. I stood up, went over to my dresser, and pulled the top drawer out. Buried under several shirts was my alarm clock. The question is, how did it get there?

"Hey Kichiro? Did you put my alarm clock in my dresser?" I said. Turning off the clock, I grabbed a shirt, pulled off my tank top and slipped it over my head before opening the door. Kichiro was still asleep on the couch, but half his body was on the floor. The top half. Sighing through my nose, I went over to my kitchen and got out the largest frying pan I owned, that being the only frying pan I own. My entire apartment floor, save for the carpet in my bedroom, is covered in cement. Many times in the last two years, I have dropped my frying pan on accident, causing it to emit a loud clanging sound. Meaning, of course, it is probably the worst alarm clock possible for a person with a hangover. Going over to the back of the couch, where I was sure the pan wouldn't rebound and hit him in the face, I dropped the pan from high above me. When it hit the ground, it was very loud, and made my brother wake up instantly, clutching the sides of his head for some relief.

"Ahhh! God damnmit Amai! What the hell! Don't you know I have a hangover?!" he yelled, glaring at me through red rimmed eyes, and clutching his head between his hands.

"Of course I know, why do you think I did it? And BTW, are you aware you got drunk off your ass and screwed a prostitute last night?" I asked him, picking up the frying pan, and placing it in the sink to be washed later. Turning back to him, I watched as he struggled into a more comfortable seating position before climbing up onto the couch, looking like he was about to hurl. I sighed again and picked up a wastebasket, placing it in front of him, and putting another bottle of water on the coffee table.

"Bitch take my money?" he asked, pulling out his wallet from his jeans pocket, and opening it up.

"Don't worry about." I said, itching to take the pan and whack him over the head for all the crap he put me through last night. He put his wallet back in his pants pocket, and stood up, none too steadily, from the couch.

"You got any coffee?" he yawned, stretching his arms above his head, causing his shirt to ride up on his stomach before pulling it down.

"You've been here before, I think you can answer that yourself." I said, picking the pan up and shielding it in front of me before turning on the faucet. The water hit the pan and ran down the metal until it fell into the sink, stray drops of water fell either onto the floor or onto me.

"You do know that you can add a lot of sugar and cream to coffee to make it less bitter don't you?" he asked, going into the bathroom, and shutting the door.

"Coffee's an addictive drink. And anyway, when I do that, it tastes like hot chocolate to me. So it's fine, isn't it?" I said, wiping the pan down with a towel and setting it back in the cupboard. From behind the closed door, I heard Kichiro hurling the contents of his stomach into the toilet, before washing his mouth out in the sink.

"I got the day off today, so do you wanna walk around with me? Maybe pick up Colm on the way to who knows where?" I asked through the door, knocking on the wood, and waiting for a response.

"Umm~ yeah, sure. Is it all right if I take a shower first?" he asked.

"Shower head's busted, it'll take you an hour just to take a ten minute shower. Wipe yourself down with a rag and lets get the hell out of here." I said, walking over to the food cupboard and opened it up, peering at what was inside.

"Sheesh, what's with you? What, we can't eat before we go? Do you have anything in there?" Kichiro asked, walking out of the bathroom while pulling his shirt over his head and revealing his skinny body. He walked over to me while I continued to look at the inside of the cupboard. Moo-Moo soon joined us, jumping up onto the countertop underneath the cupboard.

"Rats" I said, looking inside the food cupboard.

"Don't have food?" Kichiro asked, coming up next to me to look inside.

"No. I mean, there's rats" I said, stepping aside for him to look at the small rodent inside munching on crackers, before it saw the black and white cat peering inside at him, before jumping from the cupboard and onto the counter top. Scurrying down onto the floor to try and escape the feline chasing after him.

"Cant believe you live in this dump." Kichiro said, looking at his stained shirt and dumping it on the chair standing alone in the center of my small kitchen. Well, it wasn't alone, there was still large pieces of wood surrounding it, the remains of my table.

"Home is home. And besides, this is all I can afford for now." I said, going back into my room, and getting a shirt from my closet, throwing it to him before swiping my keys and wallet from the coffee table, briefly touching my fedora before remembering I had to fix the gaping hole of felt in the center. Growing angry and briefly pinching my earlobe, I headed towards the door.

"Pssh, fine. So eat first then get Colm? Or vice-versa?" he asked, following me out the door while pulling a shirt over his head.

"Be glad I have spare shirts for you here. And yeah, eat first, then Colm." I said, leading the way through the open door way, after telling Moo-Moo to be good, heading down the stairs with my brother in tow, on my way to Ikebukuro.

_DRRR!_

"How are you doing in your classes?" I asked him, walking down the street next to him, taking another bite of my sweet bean roll, looking up at him through my red bangs.

"Why do you need to know?" he asked, looking behind him at a woman in a mini skirt that had just passed us. I hit him in the arm and got him to look forward again.

"If we're gonna be barging into a class you should be in, I at least need some idea of what I should lie to them about." I explained, taking another bite out of my bread, while he took a bite out of his.

"As of now, I am currently tied for top of the class with Colm. Skipping a few classes wont hurt my GPA." he said through a mouthful of bread. I started choking on the bread I had tried to swallow before he told me that. Kichiro noticed my struggle for air, and immediately started hitting my back in an attempt to help. When I started to breathe again, I told him,

"Don't do that when I'm eating! Now stop lying and tell me the truth." I said irritated, glaring up at him.

"I'm not lying! You might think we're all idiots Amai, but you know we're all smart in our own ways." he said, adding a defensive tone to his voice. I would have apologized at this point, but then I thought back on a past event.

"Smart huh? So that time you broke mom's vase, climbed a tree, and then purposefully fell out of the tree and ended up breaking your arm to get sympathy points was, what exactly? A _wise_ decision?" I asked him, elbowing him in the ribs.

"I meant I was _legal_ smart, smart mouth. What about you? You climbed to the top of the barn when you were twelve and jumped down into a haystack and sprained your ankle for, like, a month!" he said, poking my forehead angrily.

"I was twelve! And gullible! You're the one who goateed me into doing something stupid in the first place!" I said, recalling him calling me a chicken, and daring me to do it. But that didn't deny the fact that I had, indeed, taken the bait, and paid the price.

"Che, whatever. We're at Uni. And Colm is in building four." he said, finishing the last of his bread before walking ahead of me.

"Lead the way El Capitan~" I said, following behind him while looking around at the tall buildings. They weren't as big as the tall towers of Tokyo though, but still. Kichiro led us through a maze, and at the end, was this "Building four" place. Kichiro stopped to look at his watch, but I stepped forward and pushed the double wood doors open, leaving them to bang against the walls. Completely by coincidence, and not at all by my lack of manners, class room etiquette, and lost sense of time, I had interrupted the teacher's lecture.

"Amai, it's still class time! You cant just barge in and-" Kichiro said, before being interrupted by a tallish man with a graying beard.

"Tachibana-kun, what a…surprise. It's nice of you to finally join us, it's too bad you are not as punctual as your twin brother. And this young lady is?" he asked in a dry voice, looking down at me with what I could only describe as contempt.

"Hebizawa-sensei, this is my younger sister, Tachibana, Amai. We just came here to get Colm since she finally has a day off." Kichiro said, bowing low at the waist, and staying still.

"Tachibana, Amai. Oh! I see, the infamous bakery girl. Or should I address you by your street name?" he said, bowing his head once, barely even a bob.

Gritting my teeth, I replied in a somewhat strained voice, "Tachibana is just fine, Hebizawa-san."

"Class, this is why you attend this university. So you don't end up uneducated at a menial job making the minimum." he said, turning away from us, and walking down to the front row where Colm was, looking fretfully back at us, particularly me, as my face turned red, and I rolled up the sleeves of my long-sleeved shirt.

'_Who does this bastard think he is?!' _I thought as Kichiro grabbed my arms and held them behind my back as the "Professor" dismissed Colm with a flick of his wrist, and a snide comment about "Spending the only day of the month 'Miss Tachibana' has free with her brothers". By the time Colm had run up the steps and helped drag me out of the classroom to the outside world, I was in desperate need to either punch someone, or calm the hell down.

"A-A-Amai, are you a-alright?" Colm asked, walking beside me while trying to stuff his books and things inside his messenger bag.

"Who the hell does that guy think he is!" I shouted up at the sky, "Uneducated? Menial job? I got an Associates degree! And at least I don't spend all day babysitting snot-nosed brats in a stuffy class room all freaking day! No offence guys." I said, shouting over my shoulder at the huge building.

"B-but Amai imouto-chan, you got that degree online, right?" Colm said, periodically looking between the ground and my eyes.

"And it was in psychology. Didn't even know you like that kind of stuff." Kichiro said, hitting my shoulder with, what he assumed was, a soft hit. Turning back around, and rubbing my shoulder, I scoffed at them. They didn't understand. A "sudden" interest in the human mind, that's what they thought. No. And I wouldn't let them understand. Never tell them why. That is for me and me only. To relive and suffer alone. God I need a drink. And yet its only mid day.

"Hey guys, want to head over to Sunshine 60? Catch a movie or something?" I asked them, loping my arms through theirs and pulling them along beside me.

"Sure, let's go." they said in unison, grinning at my expression when I grimaced at their voices. And here I thought only Carney and Kazuhiro did that creepy thing. Especially in monotone. Pulling them along beside me, we made our way out of the University and headed down the streets. After a long trek on the pavement, as well as somewhat forcefully getting Colm to tell me how his school life was going, we arrived at the busy street.

"So which movie should we see?" they said, again in unison. I mentally groaned and externally grimaced again. How did they do that?

"Nothing with twins." I said, looking through the movie posters listed on the wall of the Cineplex.

"Are you sure? I think I'd be interesting." they said again. How the hell did they do that? They grinned again at me before asking, "What would imouto-san like to see?" in a slight monotone.

"Would you two quit that! It's starting to freak me out." I finally admitted. Frankly, I could understand why Kichiro would, revenge for this morning obviously, but Colm? Since when did that happen?

"It's been awhile since we all saw a movie together, so how about this one?" Colm said, pointing at a samurai-action movie. Weird. Since when did Colm watch bloody movies like this?

"Hey Colm, you know that time you told me there was a girl in your class you liked?" I asked him while we stood in line waiting to buy the tickets.

"Yeah, we actually started going out two weeks ago. She's really fun and sweet, but…she has this weird hobby." he said, his expression going a little stiff as he kept up his smile.

"Does she like horror and bloody action movies?" I guessed, getting out my wallet before Colm held out his hand for me to stop and took out his own.

"Unfortunately. I really like her. Really I do. But…she…horror…" he said, trailing off as he paid the man at the ticket counter. He handed us our tickets and we walked toward the concession stand and waited while Kichiro braved the line.

"So you're going to this movie so you can be more accustomed to it? And not chicken out every time you see one with her?" I asked, getting a little annoyed when I looked over at Kichiro flirt with the woman behind the counter.

"Sort of. Not so much accustomed to, as I'm trying to be a little braver so she doesn't think I'm weak or afraid." he said, looking down at his scuffed shoes. I smiled a little to myself and grabbed his arm as Kichiro made his way towards us, juggling three different pops and two bags of popcorn. Relieving him of one of the bags and sodas, we made out way don the hallway and into the theater.

'_I wonder when my brother started to change so much.'_ I thought, as the lights in the theater dimmed, the seats began to fill up, and as we took our seats, the movie started.

'_I wonder if I'll be able to change like that.'_ I thought when out of the corner of my eye I saw Colm flinch as blood flew on the screen. Leaning to my right, and close to his ear, I whispered and when I leaned away, he smiled at me and nodded his thanks before reluctantly turning his attention back to the movie before us. Leaning back against my seat, I watched as a katana sliced the flesh of an unsuspecting persons back, before looking to my left and seeing Kichiro flinch at the same time Colm did. I smiled once again before watching the lead actor handle the blade so carefully.

'_Who was he again? Yuuhei Hanejima? Should be a good movie.' _I thought, seeing Colm flinch once more and remembering what I had told him and smiling once more.

"If you want I'll come with you to these movies so you can practice a little, after all, what are sisters for?"


	12. Chapter 12: Apology Accepted

"Colm? Are you going to be all right?" I asked, right before he ran over to a nearby trash bin and threw up. The spectacle received many looks of disgust, and backing away from my poor brother who continued to vomit into the metal bin.

"It's okay Colm, the movie's over now, nothing to fear." I said softly, rubbing his back as he started to dry heave. Kichiro soon came out of the theater Colm had previously ran out of and I had followed.

"Gross Colm. You alright?" he asked, making his way over to us, all the while holding his nose. I yanked his arm down away from covering his nose.

"Don't be rude. You know damn well we've smelled worse back home." I said, grimacing a bit when the smell finally got to me. _'I take that back. This is gross.'_ I thought, keeping my hands firmly by my side and on Colm's back so as not to make Colm feel worse than he already felt.

"Horror…blood…so scary." Colm whimpered, his voice echoing from inside the metal can before he pulled his head up slowly, revealing his pale green face, his skin making the freckles on his cheek bones more prominent. He wiped his mouth before promptly hurling again into the trash can when a teenager, mostly likely cutting class, came out of the theater talking to another about the, and I quote, "awesome sword going through that guys' stomach and dragging his bloody guts out." Yeah. Not something you want to hear, especially when you've just choking on your stomach.

"Colm? Do you want a butterscotch candy?" I asked him, watching as he once again pulled his head out of the trash bin, and nodded weakly before sitting down on the red carpet against the wall of the hallway, putting his head between his knees.

"Alright, we'll get you a butter candy. Kichiro, go get him some butterscotch from the concession stand." I said, sitting down next to Colm while he rocked back and forth.

"How come I have to go?" he whined, crossing his arms and looking down at us.

"Because if you do, I wont say one word about your dumb-assery for the next two weeks should you do something stupid." I said, pulling my wallet out and handing him enough money to pay from a bow of butterscotch. He contemplated the deal, before sulkily swiping the money from my hand and stalking towards the stand where a pretty brunette stood, her mouth agape at the horror that was someone puking into a garbage can, snapping out of it quickly when Kichiro approached her, sliding a seductive smile on her face before getting him the candy he wanted, letting him walk away without having to pay.

'_What a dumb-ass. But at least I didn't have to pay.'_ I thought as he walked back towards us, opening the box and pouring a few into his hand and popping them into his mouth before giving me the box and my money. I poured a few into my own hand and held them in front of Colm, waiting until his head rose up and he took the candy out of my hand, letting it melt in his mouth slowly before he rose to his feet, swaying a bit before Kichiro took his arm to steady him. I stood up beside Colm, keeping a hand on his shoulder as we made our way to the entrance to the theater. _'At least he lasted through the whole movie.'_ I thought stuffing the half empty box into my pocket.

"So who's up for grabbing a bite?" Kichiro asked, pushing the doors open, and guiding Colm carefully through.

"Seriously? You _just _got finished watching Colm puke his stomach into a trash bin, and you want to eat?" I asked incredulous, looking between Colm's still green face, and Kichiro's pale freckled face.

"Actually, I'm a little hungry myself. Can we stop at that sushi place you mentioned last time we talked? Please?" Colm asked, looking down at me, pushing his bottom lip out in a pout.

"You guys are weirdoes. All right, lets go, my treat." I said, tugging Colm along by his hand, and letting Kichiro snicker to himself while he trailed behind us.

_DRRR!_

"Russia Sushi! No make you sick!" called the deep Russian voice of Simon from outside the restaurant. I had dragged a just-barely-not-sick Colm and a snickering Kichiro all the way along the sidewalks to Russia Sushi. Being some-what friends with Simon has its privileges. Such as: discounted sushi. Although, that may or may not be a bad thing depending on how Colm's stomach held out.

"You should use that pout-y face to your advantage Colm, could break a lot of hearts." Kichiro said, before swallowing a piece of yellow-tail sushi.

"Careful, if you use it too much, birds will use it as a perch." I countered, popping a piece of fatty tuna into my mouth. There is only room for one Kichiro on this Earth, the species doesn't need two Kichiros. Well, technically, there are two of him, although their personalities are polar opposites. Okay, the world does not need a duplicate of Kichiro's personality.

"Ah, don't worry Amai, I wont use it for evil." he said, smiling innocently at me. I looked at him oddly before shrugging my approval reaching over the table to swipe the last piece of yellow-tail off of Kichiro's plate.

"Hey! Give that back!" he exclaimed, immediately grabbing my wrist to keep it from bringing the delicious piece of sushi to my awaiting mouth.

"Ya snooze, ya lose Bucko." I said, tossing the fish the rest of the short way into my mouth, chewing it with renewed satisfaction. Kichiro growled at my Cheshire Cat grin, and stole a glance at my own piece of fish, so openly laid out for the taking. Kichiro moved my wrist high up into the air above the table, before making a move for the last piece of fish. Immediately seeing through his plan, I grabbed his hand and held it high above our heads. Glaring at each other over the table, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of movement from Colm, and when I broke Kichiro's glare to look at my plate, the sushi was gone. Kichiro saw my line of vision, and immediately looked over at Colm, seeing him smirk and swallow.

" 'If you fight, you lose a bite'…of fish that is." he said snickering to himself before popping a piece of salmon roll into his back-to-normal, pale face. Kichiro and I both grimaced, remembering that phrase to be one of mom's favorites to say when she caught us fighting, which would instantly land us into a heap of trouble, and a "Go straight to your rooms without dinner." of course, since we fought so much, it was decided that _instead _of starving to death, we would miss out on dessert. A cruel punishment when our mom made the best double chocolate peppermint ice cream from way back in her prime.

My cell phones ringer went off, and it disrupted my train of thought, releasing my hand from Kichiros' and wrenching the other from his immobile grip, I reached into my pants pocket, and retrieved it, looking at the caller ID before answering with a warmer-than-sunshine greeting to make up for the colder-than-ice one I had given this morning.

"_U-umm, Amai? This is Yuumi. Listen Amai, there is someone here to speak to you._" she said, stuttering a bit at the beginning. Is she afraid?

"Who is it? Wait, wait, let me guess." I said, it wasn't often anyone wanted to speak to me voluntarily.

"_Amai, I don't think now is the best time for games." _she said. Yeah, a definite hint of scared-ness.

"Please? It's not often I have someone who wants to speak to me." I said. In the background of the restaurant, I heard the whispered reply of my brother.

"About as rare as a Dodo bird." he murmured, before I hit him painfully in the shoulder, making him scowl and rub his arm.

"Okay, I know it's not the high school-ers 'cause they're still in school. It cant be Simon 'cause he's outside the restaurant right now. My brothers are with me. Your speaking to me, so it cant be you. Is it a guy with black hair and an Eskimo-style coat?" I asked her, hoping in my mind it was anyone but him.

"_No, I'm fairly sure it's not."_ she said.

"Okay, well I'm stumped. Can you put the guy on the phone, please." I said, taking a bite of a salmon roll, before promptly choking when I heard his voice in the receiver.

"W-what the h…hell are you d-doing there?" I choked while Colm pounded his hand on my back, trying to help me breathe.

"_I just came here to apologize, is that such a surprise?"_ Shizuo said, from what I could tell, he sounded a little annoyed. Because I'm not there?

"A little, yes. Why do you want to apologize?" I asked, drinking some water to dislodge any food that was still stuck in my throat.

"_Cant a guy just apologize without getting questioned?!" _he growled into the phone.

"Fine, but I want you to apologize in person so I can see you're being serious." I said, getting my wallet out.

"…_Fine" _he said, well, growled.

"Perfect. You know that Russia sushi place?" I asked, pulling bills out and setting them on the table to cover the bill and tip.

"_Yeah."_ he said.

"Well don't go there, I'm two for two with Dennis and I cant afford a third strike. No, meet me in front of the shark tank at the aquarium in an hour. Don't be late." I said, hanging up before he could say a word.

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I looked at my brothers across from me, staring at me the way I was staring at them. After a few uncomfortable moments of silence I cleared my throat and said the only thing that came to mind.

"Soooo…want to go to the aquarium?"

"Who was that?" Kichiro asked, looking at me with an almost bored expression.

"Just a guy I know slash hate. So who's up for seeing fish and not eating them?" I said, trying to avoid his question. I got up and started to leave, only for Kichiro to mimic my movement and grab my upper arm.

"Amai, tell us now." he said. Once in a blue moon will Kichiro ever act like the responsible older brother he is supposed to be. Lucky me this is the time he chose to act like it. I hesitated, looking at Colm briefly when he got up also and stood beside Kichiro, looking at me with unexpected determination to stand by his brothers side.

"Heiwajima, Shizuo." I mumbled looking away from them and down at the ground.

"One more time." he said, turning his head so his ear was towards me.

"Heiwajima, Shizuo." I said, again barely audible.

"What was that?" Kichiro asked, looking at me with a funny expression. Could he hear me? Did he know what I said? By this point I didn't care. I hate having people ask me things so many times in a row.

"It was Heiwajima-_freaking-_Shizuo! Got it! Ya happy now?!" I half-asked half-yelled. I huffed, shoving past him and towards the doors of the establishment. Everyone in the restaurant sat where they were, gawking at me like I was a freak show, which, to anyone who knows me or of me, I am. Pushing past the doors, I said a small goodbye to Simon, and headed down the side streets to the aquarium. I didn't know Colm and Kichiro were following me until they did that creepy twin monotone, and grabbed my shoulders at the same time.

"Wait up Imouto-chan." they said in unison, grabbing my shoulders, causing me to panic and almost punch Colm in the nose had he not ducked out of the way, making me hit the hard metal pole behind him.

"_Son of a bitch!_" I yelled, gripping my hand to my chest, causing several people walking around to gawk at us, as well as several mothers to cover their young children's ears and scowl at me before hurrying their questioning children along down the street. After a minute of somewhat silent fuming, I inspected my throbbing hand. The knuckles were red and after prodding it, I came to a final conclusion.

'_It freaking hurts!~' _I thought, turning on my heel, and walking away from the twins.

"Amai-imouto-chan! Are you all right? Your hand is hurt isn't it. I knew I shouldn't have ducked." Colm fussed rushing to my side trying to get a closer look at my injury.

"Better my fist than your nose, Colm. Although, maybe if I had broken your nose, your girlfriend could fuss over you." I joked, laughing a bit to shake off the pain, and laughing a bit more when I saw his face go a bright red, almost matching his hair, but matching mine perfectly.

"Do ya wanna head over to the hospital?" Kichiro asked, placing his hands behind his head while he walked behind us.

"No, a bandage around it should do just fine." I responded, holding it tenderly before letting it drop by my side.

'_Maybe I should keep it elevated.'_ I thought, wincing slightly as my hand, or more precisely my knuckles, began to throb and seemed to grow hot as time went on. It wasn't long before we reached the entrance of the aquarium. Kichiro, out of an act of kindness for my hurting hand and self, paid our fare and we went inside. I had been in this city for little more than two years. I had run into more gangs and thugs than I could count. And I had used my special calming technique on the brute this city called, "Ikebukuro's strongest man", yet I could not, for the life of me, figure out directions. I could give them, but I could not follow them. Hundreds of arrows in this ocean blue place, yet I could not find the shark tank. Giving up my pride, I let Colm and Kichiro take the lead, following them blindly while looking at the multi colored fish in the glass tanks. When we reached the shark tank, there was still twenty minutes until Shizuo's due arrival. While we waited, I watched the sharks swim from a nearby bench facing the huge glass wall. Colm, trying to get away from the "ferociousness of the predator with sharp teeth" went to hunt out a food cart of concession stand in the area. And Kichiro, well he was Kichiro. Staking out girls and chatting them up until either they grew uninterested, or their boyfriends showed up and threatened him, making him back down and retreat back to where I was standing.

"So what about you Kichiro? Any girls in your life? And before you answer, I mean a specific girl you actually want to date and not screw and never call again." I said, looking at my hand again and probing it, waiting for an answer.

"You're not gonna bully an answer out of me any time soon, so don't even try." he scoffed, resting his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands.

"Bully is such a strong word, lets say encourage. Like I _encourage_ you to answer me or else." I threatened.

"Tch. Or else what?" he replied, looking at me slyly out of the corner of his eye, knowing full well I was full of empty threats and limited ideas on how to force him in public. When a few minutes of silence went by without a retort to his reply, he smirked and got up, telling me he was going to find Colm. It wasn't long after Kichiro left to find Colm, that the man I was waiting for, and I mean the last hour, showed up.

"Well, well, Heiwajima-san, it looks like you are…" I said, looking around the surrounding area for a clock and said, "five minutes early." dejectedly.

'_Am I the only one whose overall punctuality sucks?' _I thought, looking back at him as he took the seat next to me on the bench, looking almost a little bored, subdued?

"So, you have something you wanna say to me?" I asked, watching a hammerhead swim by.

"Yeah…look, I'm sorry." he said gruffly, looking to the side away from me.

"For…?" I pushed. If he was going to apologize, he might as well do it right.

"Breaking down your door." he finished, refusing to face me. I coughed into my non-sore hand, until he said the needed word 'Twice'.

"And?" I asked. It took him awhile to answer, so I doubt he even remembered breaking my table until I mentioned it to him. "And?" I asked again.

"And what? What else is there?" he asked, an annoyed tone rising in his voice.

"You tore a hole in my hat when you threw Chikan-san into the table. You haven't apologized yet for that." I responded, looking up at him. Even sitting down he was a good head taller than me, at least now I just about reached his chin.

"Fine then, I'm sorry for that too! Happy now?" he said, growling at me, finally looking at me. Well, glaring down at me more like it. And although he was glaring at me, I couldn't help but notice his eyes through the tinted blue glass.

"Yes, I am. I'll accept your apology, but I still hate you. So let's agree to stay neutral." I said tearing my eyes away from the hidden brown ones behind the glass, looking straight at the tank as a great white swam by, peering at us with its beady black eyes.

"Why do you hate me so much?" he asked me, curiosity edging around his voice as he peered down at me.

" 'cause you smoke cigarettes. I hate cigarettes, so by extension, I hate smokers, so by extension, I hate you." I rationalized, glancing at him briefly before focusing my attention back on the shark, unconsciously curling my left hand around my bruised one.

"Some twisted logic you have there." he said, again gruffly in that deep voice of his.

"It's not twisted, it's personal experience. The teacher I hate smokes cigarettes, and my dying mother smoked cigarettes that gave her a life sentence. Therefore, anyone who smokes cigarettes I instantly hate, if not also for what they're doing to their bodies." I said, bringing my injured hand up to my chest as it began to throb painfully again.

"Hmm? Something wrong with your hand?" he asked looking at, what I hope he was looking at, my hand.

"Huh? Uh, yeah…I hit a pole and I might have broken something." I said, glancing down at the knuckles as they began to bruise.

"Why not just go to a hospital then?" he asked, fingers twitching as he rested them on his thigh, probably itching for a cigarette.

" 'cause I hate hospitals. But you're right, I should probably go see a doctor if it continues to bruise like this." I said, looking at the color with distaste. It quiet for awhile, while we sat on that bench. People walked by occasionally, some people looked at us and whispered amongst themselves. Truthfully I wasn't sure which of us would break the silence first, so I was a little surprised when Shizuo spoke first.

"Listen, I have this…friend who's a doctor. I can, umm, take you to him if you want." he muttered. Was he shy? Am I crazy, or does he sound cute when he's shy? Wait, cute? _Am_ I going crazy? Maybe I should see that doctor and get my head scanned.

"Okay, I just have to tell my brothers where I'm going. Colm! Kichiro!" I shouted, causing several people to jump in fright at the sudden noise. It was a few seconds before they appeared, each holding what I could only assume was chocolate covered popcorn.

"What's up?" Kichiro asked through a mouthful of popcorn.

"Shizu-chan is taking me to see a doctor friend of his, so this is where we part." I responded, standing up from the bench and giving them a brief wave goodbye.

"For the last time. _Stop calling me that!_" he shouted, standing up abruptly behind me. I turned and looked at him quizzically.

"Why not?" I asked him, looking up into his angry eyes, and slightly bared teeth.

It wasn't the soft voice of Colm who answered me. It wasn't the snarky voice of Kichiro who answered me. And it wasn't the gruff voice of the angry man in front of me, unless, of course, he knew some kind of ventriloquism. No. It was the voice that made me immediately think of a wolf. Orihara Izaya-san

"Because that's what I call him, Amai-chan."


	13. Chapter 13: Doctor Visit

**Hello my lovelies! So, three months huh? Just to make it clear to my more avid fans, this was totally unprecedented. Of course, that's what happens when your screen breaks and then your hard drive crashes, and then...well you know the drill. But, luckily I have worked on the story in my mind and now have the means to update this here story. Anyway, I have story starved you dear readers long enough, so in keeping my neck un-strangled (Ducky9002), I have but one question: the cliff hangers. Too much? Or are they fine as-is? Feel free to leave a review after the chapter end. Also, since I have a small case of Triskaidekaphobia, I will have chapter 14 up in a minimum of one week. Please assume that if a week and a half has gone by, that I have writer's block. Fingers crossed!**

So I've been thinking about stars, and all that stuff about being born under them. If that's true, what kind of star was _I_ born under to be in this kind of situation? I'm not exactly between a rock and a hard place, it's more accurate to say I'm between a wolf and a brick wall, only instead of a brick wall that can't move, this one can move and punch you. And instead of being between them, I'm behind the brick wall.

"Are you on a date Shizu-chan? I don't know if that's cute or gross," he said, grinning widely while approaching us.

"It's not a date," we said simultaneously.

"Well whatever. It's not like I care," he said, although his grin said otherwise.

"Didn't I tell you Izaya? To stay the _hell out of __**Ikebukuro?!**_" Shizuo suddenly exploded, charging forward towards Izaya. Despite this frightening display that managed to scare away the dozens of surrounding people, Izaya simply smiled broadly and turned towards the nearest exit, Shizuo following behind him. If it were an anime, I'm pretty sure steam would've been billowing out of his ears to signify the amount of exertion he was putting into the chase.

"Come back here so I can kill you, Flea!"

"Heiwajima-san! Killing people is wrong! Not to mention illegal!" I shouted after him, walking after them and soon breaking into a run when I saw them turn a corner around a fish tank.

"That's our sister," I heard behind me, recognizing it as Colm's voice in a somewhat proud tone of voice.

"Try to break his leg or maim him at the very least."

"Yup. _That _is our sister. Hey Amai! Call us later to let us know you survived!" Kichiro called behind me.

"Promise!" I shouted quickly over my shoulder.

"Keep to your word or the demon will get ya," he shouted.

"Shut up!" I smiled, and flicked a quick wave over my shoulder before turning around the fish tank and running straight through the red fire door exit, and into the somewhat fresh air of the ally beside the aquarium, catching a fleeting glimpse of a black and white bartending uniform. Running quickly towards the mouth of the ally, I caught them disappearing around the corner of a building two blocks up.

"Shizuo you giant blonde bastard! Where the hell did you go?!" I shouted to no one in particular.

"Go up one block and then turn at the ally. Orihara-san usually leads him in a loop, someone shouted.

"Thank you kind stranger," I shouted, to who I don't know. I didn't have time to turn and find whoever had helped me, now I needed to find certain tall blonde.

Running quickly down the street and turning down the instructed ally, I was just in time to see Orihara-san run quickly by. Despite knowing what I was about to do, and planning it just as Orihara-san ran by, and planning ahead for the worst case scenario should my just barely formed plan go wrong, I knew it would hurt, like hitting a brick wall. And despite knowing this, I still flinched slightly inside when I saw him appear.

And of course, I was right.

When I finally did hit him, it was like running into a brick wall. Maybe less so since this brick wall fell beneath me as soon as I crashed into him. In movies, as soon as something, say, smashing into a brick wall of a man, happens, it's supposed to go all in slow motion, or something like that anyway. This didn't happen for me. As soon as I ran into him, the world, which had blurred somewhat when I was running full speed into a madman, had caught up to me, albeit sideways.

"Oww~ what are you made of? Stone?" I whined, sitting up awkwardly on his back while he wiggled to get up and go.

"Get off me kid!" he yelled, fidgeting underneath me.

"So you can what? Go kill somebody? Hell's to the no, Shizu-chan. Sorry to break it to you, but murder is illegal," I retorted as I repositioned myself on his squirming back, trying to pin his arms next to his sides with my thighs.

"What are you? His friend? Are you trying to help him!" he yelled, a ferocious roar hanging on his lips as he looked up at me with wide, angry eyes.

"Tch, as if. When that guy looks at me, I feel like he might eat me," I said, rolling my eyes. It wasn't that far from what I actually thought of him, but who am I to judge a guy I've only known for three weeks. And, now that I think about it, this is probably the third time I've met him.

In my reverie, I failed to notice him wiggle his arm free, how I missed that I will never know since I was sitting on top of him when he did so, so I should have felt him move. What I did feel however sent me into a state of shock and panic, and a thousand emergency alarms running and flashing through my head telling me to run away. And I did just that. I climbed off of his back and scooted back on my hands and feet until my back hit the lamp-post, and proceeded to curl my legs up to my chest, resting my chin on my knees and wrapping my arms around my legs as I watched him quickly stand up from the sidewalk and look around quickly and furiously for Orihara-san.

My actions? A natural response of my body. Who am I to go against my inner instinct when it's trying to warn me away from its trigger? And to think, all he did was touch the inside of my thigh.

_"Where did that bastard go?!"_ Shizuo shouted, looking around the crowd of people who had gathered, before they found their wits and quickly walked away from the man I had tackled to the ground. If I had my own wits about me, the only sane thing I would've thought would've been to wonder how someone like me, a person that barely reached his shoulders, was able to tackle him in the first place. But no, I was still in a panic, and the only thing that was going through my mind were greedy hands and a leerful expression.

When Shizuo finally stopped obsessing over Orihara-san's disappearance, and had somewhat calmed down, he stomped over to me, hands shoved in his pants' pockets, and a lit cigarette between his lips.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked gruffly, puffs of smoke drifting out into the air. If I hadn't still been in a state of shock, I might've sneered at him, and said something sarcastic and bitchy, but I just sat there and stared up at his looming form. I think the staring might've gotten a little awkward for him because after a while he started to stare down at his shoes and repeatedly comb his hair back with his fingers.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," he said, lifting his eyes from his shoes to look me in the eyes. I was dumbstruck for a moment, and a bit speechless because _he _wasn't _him _and he had done nothing wrong.

"S'okay," I said after I got over my speechlessness. I began to get up and made the unfortunate mistake of forgetting about my possibly broken right hand. As soon as I put pressure on it, I yelped in pain and sat back against the lamp-post before getting up again, clutching my bruising hand to my chest.

"We should probably get to Shinra's," Shizuo said, glancing at my hand. I contemplated two things before answering him.

One) deny any help and walk to a hospital, facing the fact that I am a coward after what just happened and silently agree to never see him again.

Or two) come up with a wise-ass remark and follow the blond brick wall to his doctor-friend so my hand wouldn't look so, well, gross looking. Needless to say I chose the latter.

"No shit Sherlock," I said, gesturing with my good hand for him to lead the way. He grunted, frowning and glaring at me, before straightening up and walking past me down the street. I quickly caught up behind him and tried to keep pace.

_DRRR!_

After what seemed like twenty minutes or twenty blocks, I had fallen far behind the blond. Just as I was crossing the street, he was one block ahead of me, crossing to the next block.

"Heeey!" I shouted, "Wait up! Mr. Bartendeeeerrr!" Up ahead I saw him stop at the curb of the next block and saw him look around himself before spotting me down the block.

"Hurry up or I'll leave you behind," he shouted, one hand cupped around his mouth, acting as half of a megaphone. Several people jumped at the suddenness of his shout and hurried past him. Despite my annoyance, I picked up the pace and half-jogged down the block and across the street.

"My legs aren't as long as yours are, so if you could slow down a bit, that would be helpful," I said as I approached him.

"We're almost there, so try not to get lost," he said, blatantly ignoring what I had just said, but nonetheless slowed down enough so that we were walking side by side. It was quiet after that, despite the city noises around us.

"What did that guy mean about a demon?"

Well that was short-lived.

"My brother's just being stupid. When I was kid, my older brothers used to tell me this story to make me do stuff for them. Actually, the "demon" is just this thing that my dad says made my grandparents and him and his brother move here in the first place."

As I was talking, he led us into the lobby of a tall apartment building and then into the elevator.

"Demon?"

"Yeah, it's crazy. Well actually, it's not a demon," I said as he pushed a button and the elevator doors closed and the elevator lifted us up.

"What is it then?" he asked as the elevator slowly came to a stop after a dozen floors went by and the doors opened before us.

"A Dullahan. Is this the place?" I asked pointing to the apartment before us.

"Eh? Um yeah," he said a little dazedly.

"Something the matter?"

"...No, I don't think so," he muttered, knocking on the door.

I looked at him questionably before I turned my attention back to the door as I heard the pitter-patter of feet race quickly across the apartment floor before it flew open revealing a bespectacled man.

"Celty! Welcome home...Oh, Shizuo-kun. Get in a fight again?" he asked, looking up at the tall blond next to me.

"No, this kid hurt her hand and needs it looked at," he said, jutting his thumb at me.

"Excuse me, "Kid"? One, I'm a frickin' adult. And two, I have a name! Exactly how did you ask for me at the bakery?" I said slightly annoyed that he still thought of me as a child.

"I asked for the annoying red-haired girl and the old woman started dialing," he responded, walking past the bespectacled man and into the apartment.

"What? _I'm_ annoying? I'm not the jackass that threw some dead-beat through the storefront window!" I shouted, budging past the obviously confused man into his apartment to stand in front of Shizuo.

"You stole my cigarettes!"

"I said I was sorry! And how dare you bring up that up when you over reacted and, ah, yeah, broke my table, ripped my hat, threatened me, and broke my frickin' door _twice_!" I ranted, counting each thing off on my fingers while the bespectacled man stood awkwardly beside us.

"Um...are you two together by any chance?" he asked, looking at each of us with, what I suspected was an expecting grin.

"NO!" we said in unison, glaring at each other.

"Aww~ and here I thought you finally had a cute girlfriend Shizuo-kun," he said dejectedly, looking down at the floor before perking back up with alarm, grabbing my right wrist and holding my hand up to his face.

"Oh my, what happened to your hand? Did Shizuo hurt you?" he asked gently prodding it and noting when I winced.

"Pfft, yeah right. As stupid as this may sound, I kinda broke it myself when I mistakenly hit a lamp-post," I said smiling sheepishly at how stupid it all sounded.

"Well, the good news is, it's not entirely broken. But, I am curious as to how you accidentally hit a lamp-post," he said smiling at me before letting go of my hand and walking away to one of the rooms inside of the apartment. He came back a moment later with a first-aid box in his hands and directed me towards his couch. Shizuo took this time to slide the door to the balcony open and step outside, slipping a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and, shaking one out, brought it up to his lips while sliding the door closed. I grimaced in disgust when he lit it.

"Before I start treating your injury, I should probably know your name," the bespectacled man said smiling kindly.

"Isn't customary that you to tell me your name first before I give you mine since for all I know you could be a psycho?" I retorted back smiling inwardly.

"Fair enough," he said, "I am Kishitani Shinra, underground doctor, and husband of my dear love Celty." By this point he was starting to gush.

"Oh, you're married? How wonderful."

"Well, we're not technically married."

"Then you're dating?"

"Well...we're not actually, um, dating."

"Shinra, no offence to your personality, but you're not making a very good first impression," I said deadpanned.

"Heh, eh, really. Well, how about you introduce yourself well I work on your knuckles," he said, gently holding my hand and wrapping gauze around my fingers.

"My what now?" I asked, a little alarmed.

"When you hit an object, like a person, or, in your case, a lamp-post, you seem to focus most of your strength into your knuckles, and as a result you seem to have cracked your knuckle. By the look of the bruising on your hand, you seem to have cracked the first two," he explained, leaving me stunned.

"You didn't even use one of those x-ray machines. How'd ya do that?"

"Well, I _am_ a professional after all. So, mind telling me who you are now?" he asked, tightly wrapping the gauze around my hand and tapping the end.

"My name is Tachibana Amai. Otherwise known as 'Bakery Girl', otherwise known as 'Bipolar Fireball'. I'd shake your hand, but, well, you know," I said glancing down at my wrapped hand as he slipped a hand brace over it.

"I thought you said my hand was fine."

"Well, can't take any chances now can we? Anyway, keep this brace on for, hmm, a few weeks should be good. Feel free to come back anytime, medical or otherwise," he said, smiling as he started putting away the gauze.

"What, no instructions on how to keep my hand disease free?" I asked with a smirk as Shizuo slid the balcony door open and closed it behind him as he re-entered the apartment.

"Well, you're a friend of Shizuo, so I assume you know all about the medical protocol," he said smiling as Shizuo came to stand beside him, reeking of nicotine and ash.

"Oh, no no. We aren't friends, we're neutral. Like, um...acquaintances. Only I neither like him nor hate him," I rambled. I don't know why I was trying so hard to make him understand that I didn't have any strong feelings either way towards him. Maybe I was coming down with something that was making me act weird.

"Anyway, thank you for wrapping up my hand, how often should I change the gauze?"

"Come back in a week and I'll re-wrap it for you. I don't know how tight you might make it, and we can't take any chances with resetting your knuckles," he explained.

"Ok, I guess I'll see you in a week then Kishitani-san."

"Oh no, call me Shinra. After all, we're all friends here after all."

"No, more so acquaintances," I argued backing towards the door, and turning slightly to open it.

"Oh, make sure to take care when around water, and don't put any strain on your hand," he shouted after me as I began to close the door behind me.

"Good thing I'm ambidextrous then. Oh! I almost forgot. Thanks for taking me here Shizu-chan," I said displaying a large grin on my face before closing the door and pushing the button for the elevator, right before I heard the thunderous roar of an infuriated man and the distinct crash of a small object again the door of the apartment.

"_My name is _not _Shizu-chan_!"

I chuckled to myself and jumped to attention when the elevator dinged and the doors opened...to a person with a motorcycle.

I'm not an idiot, I just dislike gossip. But even if I do, it's not like someone like me, a person who had never heard of Izaya Orihara or the great and powerful Shizuo Heiwajima, had never heard of the Black Rider. But unlike the average person, I did not fuss, nor did I believe all the absurd things I had heard about him. As if the Black Rider didn't have a head. Yeah. Frickin'. Right.

"Are motorcycles allowed in elevators here?" I asked. Honestly, this was probably one of the stupidest things a normal person could have possibly said. But hey, who ever said I was normal?

He let go of one of the handle bars and reached a hand into the pocket of the shiny black suit he wore and pulled out what looked like a PDA and started pressing buttons on it. When he was done, he held it up and showed me the screen.

**[Yeah. I can't really park it on the street or someone might take it.]**

"Oh, lucky you," I said after reading the screen, "I used to have a bicycle at my place, but they wouldn't let me bring it upstairs and long story short, some douche stole it. Well, it was nice meeting you Mr. Mysterious Stranger, but I have work tomorrow, and I need to figure out where I am."

Scooting past him as he pushed the motorcycle out of the elevator and pressing the button inside for the lobby, I waved a quick goodbye to him as the doors closed, and the elevator began to drift down towards the ground floor.

'_Another February come and gone and I manage to meet five new people. Six if I count the Black Rider,'_ I thought as the elevator slowly came to a halt a few minutes later. I stepped out of the elevator and then after crossing the lobby, walked out into the cool air, immediately noticing the sky beginning to darken. _'I can't believe how quickly the day has gone by. I hope Moo-Moo hasn't starved while I've been gone. Hmm, maybe I should pick something up on the way home.'_

I contemplated whether or not I should stop at a convenience market or just stop off at Russia Sushi, but I doubted that I would even bother to remember to go there once I figured out which side of town I was on. And when I did figure out which side I was on, it was too late to make a sudden side trip anyway since they would probably be closed by the time I got there. That, and it was getting to cold out to bother wandering the streets much longer. After an hour or two of walking, I decided in the end to stop at a convenience store and get something instant. In truth, I felt a little heart-broken when I made the instant ramen, the last time I had eaten it was when I was flat broke and my paycheck was a day away. It was so bland and sad I almost cried, but maybe my taste buds are more accustomed to mom's recipe.

Mom.

I wonder if she's eating well tonight. I'm sure she is since Sora took over cooking…but…

"Mom, I'll send a coffee cake to you soon. And I'll make your favorite chazuke when I come up and visit you," I said to no one in particular, yet secretly wondering if mom had heard it somehow. After cleaning up dinner, and making sure Moo-Moo was well fed, I stripped off my clothes and changed into my sweatpants and tank top. Moo-Moo came over and curled by my side on the futon, purring contentedly while I scratched her ears. I sighed and fell back onto my pillow and brought the think covers up to my chin before rolling onto my side and stared out the window at the dark sky.

'_I think one of the few things I'll enjoy when I'm back home is seeing the night sky covered in stars,'_ I thought as I closed my eyes and drifted off to the sounds of the city at night.


	14. Chapter 14: Fears

**Soon Ducky, soon all will be revealed.**

"Twenty-eight thousand five hundred, twenty-nine thousand, twenty-nine thousand five hundred, thirty thousand. There, rent _and_ payment for my door. Taking money from an injured person, have you no shame," I grumbled, thumbing out the money into my Super's waiting hand.

"No, as a matter-a-fact I don't, Tachibana-kun. Your door will be fixed by the time you get back from work," he said grinning and pocketing the money.

"Please don't call me that," I said deadpanned, right before a meow was heard.

"Is that a cat? You do know you can't have pets here, right?" he asked glaring slightly, as if I was breaking a federal law.

"Not saying I do have a cat, but do rats and various other vermin count? Because honestly, the chipmunks in my closet I can live with. Rat sized mice I cannot. That's like a health code violation, right?" I asked innocently. He glared at me menacingly before turning his back on me. He left the apartment grumbling all the way.

"Good bye Slum Lord-Sama!" I called after him, earning a resentful 'Aw shut it!' from him. Chuckling quietly to myself, I quickly checked the hall to see him shuffling down the old stairwell. When the top of his balding head was no longer seen, I walked over to the bathroom door and let Moo-Moo out.

"Bad kitty. I thought I said not to make a sound," I scolded her, all the while she just walked up to me and started to rub herself against my leg. How could I stay mad at _that?_

"See you later Moo-Moo…don't eat the chipmunk," I added as an afterthought before grabbing my jacket and slipping my hand carefully through my sleeve. It was either today or tomorrow that Miss Yuumi's daughter would be arriving, and I didn't want to be late when she arrived, let's just call it me trying to make a good first impression to the woman taking half of my job.

'_No bitter thoughts, try to stay neutral. Neutral and positive,'_ I thought to myself, repeating 'neutral and positive' all the way to work. Since last week, I had had little contact with Taka-chan. Right around the time he was supposed to be getting ready for his shift, he would be gone already. A few days ago I got up extra early to try and catch him on his way home, but he had either left work early, or had a secret boyfriend I didn't know about. Needless to say, I hope it is the latter. In all honesty, he's probably avoiding me. Why? No idea. How? It's pretty easy since I get home around the time he goes to work, and I am out the door when he gets home. It's an enigma I hate, but I am confident I will solve it within the week.

Today I was lucky because I arrived a half hour before my shift started, however, it was the type of luck that turned on you when I walked into the shop and saw a tall woman with short brown hair talking cheerfully to Miss Yuumi. I didn't need to see her face or have an introduction to know that she is Miss Yuumi's daughter because of how they interacted. That, and Miss Yuumi has gushing quietly over a small bundle of cloth in her arms. The small bundle of cloth, of course, being her new grandchild. As much as I hated to break up their happy reunion, I couldn't just stand there awkwardly for the next half hour.

"U-umm, Miss Yuumi, I'm here for my shift," I stuttered incoherently. I didn't like interrupting happy people.

"Oh! Amai, don't just stand there! Come and greet Kyoko and Hideki-kun!" she said excitedly, turning her brief attention away from me and back to the baby I had presumed was Hideki-kun.

"It's nice to meet you Kyoko-san," I said tentatively, not at all sure what kind of person Kyoko is. I'm not a judgmental person, I do have a gay brother and a tranny neighbor, both of who I love very much, I'm just not sure what type of person could be single and have a baby.

"Amai, that's an unusual name," she replied, turning her back on her mother and child and raised her hand to shake mine before retracting it slowly when I held up my bandaged and braced hand. I grimaced on the inside. I really disliked it when people focused on my name.

"I have an unusual family. My mom says I should be as sweet as my family name," I explained.

"Sweet wild orange. It suits you very nicely. It's a pleasure to meet you Tachibana-san, thank you for taking care of my mother these last two years," she said bowing at the waist.

"Oh, no no. It's your mother who has been taking care of me for so long. There's no need to bow, the pleasure is all mine," I said quickly, bowing back. _'Since when have I ever been this formal?'_

"Would you like to meet my son Hideki?"

"Yes! Of course!"

"You seem very excited," she said, smiling at my enthusiasm.

"I haven't held a baby since my little brother. I'm a little afraid of dropping him actually," I said sheepishly, letting Miss Yuumi tuck Hideki carefully into the crook of my right elbow and resting his little head on my left hand.

"How many siblings so you have Tachibana-san? I myself have only my older brother."

"I have six. Three older and three younger."

"Really?"

"Yes, actually, I have two sets of twin brothers, two older and two younger. The pattern we were born in is most unusual thing about us though," I said, all the while looking at Hideki's sweet little sleeping face.

Miss Yuumi, upon seeing the time, rushed into the kitchen with a quick excuse of getting ready for customers, leaving Kyoko, Hideki, and I alone for the moment.

"You look almost like a young mother Tachibana-san, do you have any plans for children in the future?"

"Haah, honestly I would love to have children in my future, but I think it might be evident that I'll wind up the crazy cat lady everyone thinks I am."

"Why do you think that?"

"Let's just say my past continues to haunt me. That, and all the guys who come in here think I'm really mean all the time."

"Does your past have something to do with your hand?" she asked, looking nervously at my hand as I handed her baby back.

"Oh, no, this has nothing to do with that. I got this because I accidently hit a lamp-post."

"Why?"

"My brothers freaked me out. But I got it all fixed up courtesy of this blond bartender's friend."

"Blond bartender? Oh! You mean Heiwajima-san. Wow, I haven't seen him since I was in high school," she said, gently rocking Hideki in her arms.

"You know him?" I asked slightly astonished for some odd reason.

"Not personally, I'm about four years his senior after all. I just saw him around the streets sometimes, and heard his name mentioned quite often. How do you know him?" she asked, bouncing Hideki up and down when he began to cry.

"He threw a deadbeat through the shop window and I retaliated by throwing him back," I answered. Though this sentence would have shocked anyone, hell, everyone, she only seemed to smile and chuckle. I guess Miss Yuumi has told her a lot about me.

"That doesn't surprise me, but I was secretly hoping he had learned to control that monstrous strength of his after what happened," she said quietly, cooing to her baby while he closed his burgundy eyes sleepily.

"What incident?" I asked, suddenly suspicious? _'Did Shizu-chan hurt someone? Kill someone? No that wouldn't be possible, he would be in jail right now.'_

"It was around when I was in middle school. There used to be a bakery owned by this very sweet woman on the other side of town that I would pass on the way home. I was standing just beyond the train tracks, but I saw everything," she said, her voice growing soft and quiet, "he suddenly ran inside the bakery and destroyed everything. He even hurt the people inside. The poor woman, she was on crutches for a long while. I still don't know why he did it."

It had grown kind of quiet while she was speaking. Or rather, _I_ was kind of quiet. Despite thinking Shizuo was a jack ass, and that he had a fuse the size of the head of a pin, I didn't think he would actually, purposely hurt an innocent person. Or maybe that was just me giving him the benefit of the doubt.

If Miss Yuumi hadn't burst through the door, the quiet silence would have grown overly awkward at the atmosphere cast in the room.

"Kyoko, please take Hideki-kun upstairs while I explain to Amai about the shift change," she said, her half circle librarian glasses hanging around her neck. Kyoko nodded silently and grabbed a small tote off the top of one of the tables. When she had exited the room via the kitchen, since Miss Yuumi lived upstairs and the only way up was through the kitchen, Miss Yuumi began to explain how the new schedule would go. Since my old schedule had me working from about eight to six regularly, it would be cut in half approximately to accommodate Kyoko's schedule since she had to spend a large amount of her time with the baby. As it were, my new schedule would go from eight to two, and Kyoko would work the remaining five hours the shop was open.

My only issue was having to fill up my free time with something to do, not to mention my other issue about not being able to catch Taka-chan. Although, with my shift change, I'll be able to catch him now.

I wasn't sure if the shift change started today or tomorrow, but until two o'clock I wouldn't find out. Which actually sucks since I hate waiting on time. The only highlight of today would be when Masaomi and Mikado came during their lunch, whether or not Anri-chan would be accompanying them was variable. That, and seeing the cute little Hideki. God that baby is adorable. All these happy little thoughts quickly went to the back of my mind when a certain black haired wolf walked in through the door. On the inside I grimaced, but since Miss Yuumi told me to play nice with rude people inside the shop, I had no choice but to put on my best fake smile. Unfortunately, he was quick to see through it and grin that all knowing grin of his.

"Hello Amai-chan, doing well today?" he asked.

"That's very…uncharacteristic of you Orihara-san, sudden change of personality?" I asked, glaring at him slightly.

"You're so rude Amai-chan. I was just asking if you were well. As well as what happened to your hand," he said pointing to it. "Out of curiosity, did Shizuo do that?"

I clenched my left hand into a fist and gritted my teeth at hearing him say his name so easily. Part of me wondered if I didn't like this level of familiarity that seemed to be between them, or if I didn't like how he said his name in a non-mocking manner. However I doubt I would have liked him saying it mockingly either.

"As a matter of fact no, I did this entirely on my own," I said through slightly gritted teeth.

"You're clumsy aren't you? It's no wonder that hat of yours is in such bad shape," he said, walking deeper into the shop before leaning his elbows against the glass case that housed some of the baked goods.

"It's not that I'm clumsy. Sometimes shit happens that you can't stop or control or just plain avoid," I explained, growing a little quiet at the sound of my own words. _'Things you can't stop. Things you can't avoid. No matter how much you want it to stop.'_ Feeling tears begin to sting my eyes, I reached up to wipe them away. When the brim of my red fedora got in the way, I took it off and set it on the counter before swiping at oncoming tears.

"Why so emotional Amai-chan. Remember something grim?" Izaya asked. Whether his concern was genuine or not was questionable since he used the same tone of voice he always used when he talked to me. However, any happy or uplifting emotion that I had felt was gone in a flash when I caught sight of my precious worn hat sitting atop his head.

"Put that hat down now," I said, measuring my tone of voice carefully, bringing my hand up to my earlobe I pinched it sending a brief wave of relief and calmness through my rigid body, only for it to immediately dissipate when I saw him smirk at my reaction.

"Is this hat really so important as to create that type of emotion in you Amai-chan," he said, although it really wasn't a question so much as a statement.

"Yes, now put it down and I won't hurt you," I said, glaring at him as he continued to smirk at me.

"Oh dear Amai-chan, if you want to hurt me, then you're going to have to catch me." And with that he slowly turned around, stalked out the door, and turned down the sidewalk, looking like a smug cat who had eaten something forbidden yet delicious.

I was stunned. Did this just happen? Did that smug-ass bastard walk out of the door with _my hat_? And if so, what the hell was I doing just standing there? I didn't think that Izaya would assume I would simply start running, no, otherwise he would have run immediately as soon as he was out the door.

"Miss Yuumi, I'm going on my lunch break," I called towards the kitchen door. She gave me a brief reply, and with that, I took off my pink frilly apron, folded it up and put it in the cubby under the cash register, and as soon as the door closed behind me, I took off running down the street towards the man who had so blatantly stolen my hat.

"_Tabhair dom ar ais ar mo hata bastaird tú__!"_ (Give me back my hat you bastard!) I yelled after him, seeing him glance behind at me and weaving in between people quickly after giving me a quick smirk. Gritting my teeth in frustration, and glaring more heatedly at his disappearing back, I said the only thing that came to mind as I chased after him, nearly plowing people over in pursuit.

"IIIzzaaaayyyaaa! Get back here you bastard!" I yelled, slowly gaining some speed on him. If I could catch and tackle Shizuo to the ground, then I could damn well outrun Izaya. When I was close to catching up to Izaya, he turned sharply into the road and crossed to the other side while I backtracked and walked quickly over to where he stood grinning on the sidewalk. While I stalked across the street towards him, he took my hat off his head and, briefly twirling it on his fingers, threw it towards me like it was a Frisbee.

Delightedly, I took the hat between my fingers and grinned to myself, happy to have my hat back in my possession. Until he spoke that is.

"I wouldn't stand there too long if I were you, Amai-chan."

"Don't say my name so familiarly you jackass." It was around then that I started to register the voices around me before I heard the loud screech of tires beside me.

_DRRR!_

"_Woah, I think you killed her Saburo."_

"_No I didn't! What was she doing in the middle of the road anyways?"_

"_Calm down, I think she's starting to come to."_

What the hell kind of dream is this? Saburo? I swear, if that car-loving idiot killed me, I'll haunt him in the next life with all kinds of carburetor troubles. No, wait, if I was dead, then why was I seeing Erika and Dota-chin? I didn't want to see that yaoi otaku who always asks about Sora in heaven. Maybe this was punishment.

"Saburo, if you killed me, I'll haunt you forever," I moaned finally finding my voice.

"Ah, she's alive!" exclaimed Erika, leaning over above me with her hands on her knees.

Blinking my eyes to get rid of the spots, I began to sit up before Dota-chin pushed me back down.

"I'm fine. I didn't hit my head or anything," I said irritably, pushing his hands away before sitting up, and getting onto my feet with some assisted help from the guy who almost killed me.

"You know, usually a person would try to run from an oncoming car. Not feint in front of it. You're lucky I avoided you completely," Saburo said. Although he said it like he was worried for my safety, it sounded like he was glad my blood hadn't stained his precious vehicle.

"I just lived one of my worst fears, so I'm just going to go back to work," I said, stumbling a little as I walked back to the sidewalk. "Bye Dota-chin. Love you Walker," I shouted back across the street. In reality I liked Walker as more of a friend, but I couldn't resist playing on his fetish for little sister characters. I was hoping that I had made a quick getaway from Erika, but unfortunately not.

"Amai-chan, how's your little brother doing?" she asked, grabbing my arm so I wouldn't run away again.

"From what Patrick said, he seems like he might he doing fine," I replied, slipping my arm from her grasp and quickly running away before she could ask me anything else about Sora.

I didn't hear her calling after me as I ran down the street, so I guess my answer may have satisfied her, although somehow I highly doubted it. I think the reason she is so obsessed with Sora is because he fits her obsession. And while I think her obsession with my gay brother is creepy, I myself think that he's adorable.

'_Sora's like the little sister I never had,' _I thought to myself, smiling slightly as I re-entered the bakery, and took up my post behind the glass counter.

_DRRR!_

I came back at the same time I did any other evening. Although Kyoko didn't work that evening, which was understandable since she had just arrived, I couldn't help but feel like she should have been upstairs with Hideki, no downstairs giving me a twenty minute lecture on my "inadequate and irresponsible" work ethic, claiming that I couldn't use my lunch break to just run after a punk. Not surprisingly she had seen and heard me from the window above the shop. All in all, it was unpleasant. And also exhausting.

After I trudged up the stairs and down the hall, I paused momentarily to glance at Taka-chan's door, despite knowing that he was already long gone by now, I walked to his door and knocked anyway. After a few seconds, I pushed my luck and knocked again, this time a little harder. Unfortunately, the voice that answered me was not the sweet, girlish voice of my kind neighbor Taka-chan, rather, it was the gravely, husky voice of my perverted neighbor Chikan-san.

"Takazawa's not here Amai-chan. So now we can have a nice peaceful chat," he said glaring down at me from where he was leaning against his door frame, clad in only a pair of sweat pants.

"Sorry, but I'm exhausted Chikan-san, so I'll just be going now," I said, looking away from him and towards the safe refuge of a new door.

"I don't think so Amai-chan. I said," he quickly walked over to me and grabbed my shoulder, slamming my back into the wall next to my door. "That we need to talk."

Despite my fear at the current situation, I gritted my teeth and said, "Fine, then talk."

He smirked, and grabbed my other shoulder. "You owe me Amai-chan. You sold me out to that monster in the bartender get up. Do you know how many injuries I have? Not to mention my pride?" he said huskily, his eyes moving up and down my body.

"N-no, j-just tell me what you w-want and let me go or I'll k-kick your ass," I stuttered, old memories catching hold in the front of my mind.

"See, that's another thing. You know what I just realized? You won't do shit. All the words, all the threats, they're all just bullshit. 'Cause ya know what? You_ can't_ do anything. And this time, you can't go running to Takazawa to bail you out this time. You owe me Amai-chan," he said, dragging his tongue down my cheek and down my neck leaving a wet, slobbery trail until he bit me. And then the images started pouring in, and suddenly, my body went into a frenzy trying to push him off of me.

"Stop," I whimpered, when he took my hands in his and pinned them above me.

"Stop," I said once again, my voice cracking.

"_STOP!"_ I yelled when he pulled my shirt collar away. And then he was gone. And I was sliding down the wall until I sat with my knees pulled up against my chest, looking up at Chikan-san as he was pinned to the wall by his neck, grasping and clawing at the hand that held him there.

"_She said stop,_" my savior said through gritted teeth in a dangerously low voice.

'_Shizuo, you have the best timing ever.'_


	15. Chapter 15: Triple Threat of Worries

"Shizuo," I said quietly, whether in amazement that he had shown up at the time that I had needed help, or in confusion as to why he was here. Shizuo continued to hold Chikan-san against the wall, a good two feet in the air. As Chikan-san's face started to grow a strange shade of reddish-purple, I called his name once more loudly. Although I was sure Shizuo had not heard me the first time, this time I knew he was ignoring me.

"Shizuo, stop it," I said, getting to my feet, albeit, stumbling against the wall because of my shakiness. Shizuo continued to ignore me and press harder on Chikan-san's throat until it looked like he might pass out.

"Shizuo, that's enough. Stop it," I said firmly, walking over to him until I was sure he could see me. I placed a hand on the arm that was currently suffocating Chikan-san.

"Did he stop when he was taking advantage of you?" he asked, glancing down at me, a hard look in his eyes. This might have been the first or second time I had seen his brown eyes without the obstruction of his sunglasses, it was just too bad it was in this type of situation.

"No, but if you don't stop, then you're just as bad as he is," I told him. His eyes widened a little before narrowing in a glare as he retracted his arm and let Chikan-san fall to the ground before he scrambled to his door and slammed it closed.

"I shouldn't have let him go," Shizuo grumbled, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"It's good you did, now you proved that you're a better person than he is," I said, before turning away and walking to my door, pausing gin my step when I saw a sheet of paper taped to it.

_Brat,_

_Rent is thirty thousand five hundred yen for person plus pet. Pay the difference tomorrow._

_-Mikamoto_

_P.S. Next time, hide your secrets more properly._

I ripped the note off the door and crumpled it in my hand, picking up a key that was on a string from the door knob.

"I should've just ripped that guy to shreds, he deserves it," Shizuo grumbled behind me as I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Yeah, probably, but you shouldn't go to jail because of a pervert. It wouldn't be fair to you."

"Fair? How is it fair if you just let him get away with it? _Huh?_"

"Nothing in life is fair, Shizuo."

"Then what if he does it again?" he asked, so softly and full of concern I had to turn around and see if I heard right. The sad thing is, I would have believed his sincerity if I hadn't seen a small look of pity in his eyes.

"I doubt he has the balls to try it again. And while your concern is appreciated, it's completely unnecessary. Good bye Shizuo," I said, closing the door on him.

"Wait, Am-"

"_Good bye, Shizuo_," I said more forcefully, slamming the door on his face. Too bad, that was probably the one time he had actually remembered my name and I just cut him off. And his look at the end. _God! _It was like saying no to a puppy. What kind of heartless bitch am I?

'_Well, it's about nine-thirty now, so if he didn't leave now, he'll probably leave soon anyway,'_ I thought, swiping a bean bun from the fridge and reheating it in the microwave. While the bun was warming up, I fed Moo-Moo, and cleaned out her litter box in the bathroom. When the timer went off, I washed my hands and took my bean bun to the couch. Through a mixture of being exhausted and being comfortable, I ended up falling asleep in my clothes on the couch.

"Stupid belt," I muttered, half asleep, unbuckling the constricting thing from my waist and throwing it to the ground in a fit. Just as I was about to go back to sleep, I heard a small thump from outside my apartment.

"What…?" I said aloud. Confused, I stood up from the couch, wobbling slightly as I approached the door. After I undid the lock, and opened the door, I peeked out into the hall, only to find nothing there. When I was about to close the door and go back to sleep, I heard very quiet snoring beneath my feet. When I looked down, I was surprised to see Shizuo laying there on his side, his back to me, as if he had slipped from sitting against the wall. Looking back inside my apartment at the clock on the stove, I huffed in slight annoyance and silently figured out what I should do. If I was the bitch everyone thought I was, I would have left him there. But since I actually _did _have a soft side to me, I decided to do the nice thing and invite him in. Question was: How?

"Shizuo? Shizuo, wake up, you can't sleep in the hallway at three in the morning," I said quietly crouching down beside him. He stirred a little, but otherwise didn't wake up.

"Shizuo, come on. Get your lazy ass out of the hallway," I said a little more loudly and closer to his ear. I poked him in the shoulder repeatedly, getting him to open his eyes briefly before closing them again.

"Shizuo! You're like the heaviest sleeper ever," I muttered mainly to myself. Well, I had a few different options. I could try the pan thing again, but I was way too tired to deal with the aftermath, mainly him yelling. I could yell really loud, but I was too tired to talk my way out of angry neighbors. _'I guess it's option three then.'_

Too bad option three was one of the weaker options. It mostly consisted of shaking him until he woke up. Actually, that's all it was. "Shiiiiiiizuoooooo," I said in his ear, shaking his shoulder semi-violently. Thankfully, it didn't take as long as I had thought, which is surprising because this was my third try waking him up in twenty minutes.

"Unh?" he muttered, squinting up at me from the ground.

"Come on, Shizuo. I'll lend you my couch for the night. Or what's left of it anyway," I said, tugging his arm until he stood up and followed me inside. Once the door was closed, I led Shizuo to my couch and sat him down before going into my bedroom to dig through my closet. When I had found the spare blanket and pillow I kept inside, I returned to the main room to find Shizuo slumped over on the couch, snoring softly as if he had never woken up at all. Smiling beside myself, I spread the blanket over his long body and slid the pillow under his head. I might think he's a jackass, but I'm nothing if not hospitable. As soon as my door was closed, I bypassed my dresser and crashed onto my futon, falling asleep next to Moo-Moo's furry body. I might be hospitable, but that didn't mean I wasn't lazy at three o'clock in the morning.

_DRRR!_

It is six-thirty in the morning. I know this because my alarm clock had gone off about fifteen minutes ago. I had to leave for work within the next fifteen or so minutes so I could grab a bite to eat on the way to work. I just had one thing to fuss over before I left. What to do with Shizu-chan. I didn't want to leave him here less he be a perv or a secret robber. Although since I had little of worth the latter seemed unlikely. I could wake him up, but I didn't know what kind of morning person he is. And even if I did wake him up, it would take at least twenty minutes. Wait. I did know one sure fire way to wake him up for good. I'd deal with the after affects afterward.

"Shizu-chan, bet you can't catch me," I whispered close to his ear. Like I had predicted, it worked like a charm. His eyes flew open instantly and he sat up so fast I'm surprised his head didn't spin.

"Like hell I ca-," he stopped, looking around his foreign surroundings before he spotted me by where his head previously was. "Oh, hi kid," he said point blank.

"Dear lord Shizuo, you knew my name yesterday. Anyway, why were you here yesterday? It couldn't have been for Chikan-san, since Mr. Dreadlocks wasn't with you," I said irritably.

"Shinra wanted me to check up on you, see if you need your bandage rewrapped."

"At nine at night? A little late for a medical visit. Did you come just to see me?" I joked, laughing lightly.

He ignored me and stood up from the couch and headed towards the door, running a hand through his messy blond hair. "What? No kiss goodbye?" he ignored me still and unlocked my door.

"Hey Shizuo, why d'ya stay out in the hall last night? How come you didn't just leave?"

"I just…wanted to make sure," he said without turning around.

"Make sure what?" I asked, wondering if I detected a bit of embarrassment in his tone.

"I…I have to go. I got work so…" he said, trailing off when he couldn't find what else to say.

"Thanks," I said smiling a little. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little touched at his concern. He didn't say anything, but I saw him glance back at me a little before he opened the door. When he was shutting the door, I quickly said, "See you later Heiwajima-san."

He turned back briefly to look at me, although it felt more like he was studying me. "Uh, yeah. See you later," he said, closing the door.

_DRRR!_

"-an."

"-bana-san"."

"Tachibana-san!"

"_Tá mé suas, tá mé suas, daidí!_" (I'm up, I'm up, dad!) I said with a start, before realizing I was sleeping at the counter and Kyoko was yelling at me. "Why are you down here? Your shift isn't for, like, another hour," I said a little grumpily, rubbing my eyes awake.

"Why are _you _sleeping on the job? There has been a customer here for at least five minutes waiting for service. You're lucky she didn't leave," Kyoko said sternly, glaring down at me. How can her mother be so short and yet she be so tall?

"Ah, it's fine, I just needed to order a cake for my child's birthday. I'm really I no rush," the woman said, trying to mediate between us.

"How long have you been down here? You could've taken her order for me and not wasted any time."

"It's not my shift."

"But it is your job."

"Well why are you sleeping on your shift?"

"Because I woke up in the middle of the night and had to take care of a stray." It wasn't far from the truth.

"Sleep on your own time and don't waste the time my mother pays you for."

"I don't have time for this. Ma'am, how can I help you?" I said, turning away from bitch central to face the slightly uncomfortable woman wringing her hands.

"Don't you dare ignore me," Kyoko said in a hushed undertone that overflowed death threat.

"I, uh…I need a chocolate cake with white frosting for my son's fifth birthday, his name is Daisuke," the woman said a little nervously. I wrote it down on the pad of paper next to the cash register, all the while ignoring the glare that was presently burning a hole in my back.

"When do you need it by?"

"This Friday. Do I pay now or later?"

"Later. Do you want to pick it up or do you want it dropped off?"

"I'll pick it up."

"Okay, here's a rough estimate of the price, it won't be this exactly. Oh, and if you need to change the date for whatever reason, call this number here," I said, pointing with the pen at the number for the store as I handed her the slip.

"Thank you," she said, before walking out of the store.

"Thank you for visiting Sakura Bakery," I called after her.

"I think that's the first time I've seen you be so professional," Kyoko said, whether it was a compliment or not, I really didn't care.

"I have neither the time nor the patience to deal with you right now," I said irritably, walking past her and through to the kitchen. One day with this woman, no, scratch that, five _hours_ with this woman, and she was already driving me insane! Didn't she have a baby to take care of? I'm mean, can you really leave a seventh month old alone, albeit sleeping, in an empty apartment? Isn't that a crime?

"Miss Yuumi, here's an order for a child's birthday cake this Friday," I said, speaking above the whir of an electric blender. "Ohh~ cupcake! Can I have one? Pretty please?" I begged, clasping my hands together in a pleading manner.

"You can't eat the merchandise," Kyoko disagreed, giving me a look. As per usual, I ignored her.

"Sorry Amai, these are special order," Yuumi said, scoping the icing out of the metal bowl and into a pastry bag.

"Oh, okay then," I said, straightening out of my begging position. I might mess with merchandise, but I don't mess with orders, and the merchandise I make, i.e. cookies and cakes…well the ones I make here anyway.

"Ah, Amai, you're shift is almost done, the day old bread is in the cupboard, take as much as you want."

"Do you have any bean paste I can borrow?"

"In the refrigerator dearie."

"What are you going to do with day old bread?" Kyoko asked, following me to the row of cupboards covering the back wall before they stopped at the door leading up to the second floor.

"Half I give to the birds in the park, the other half I soften with something and eat. Hey, it's a waste of perfectly good bread if I give it all to those flea infested rats with wings." While Sora is the undisputed ruler of loving birds in all their feathery glory, I've hated the little suckers ever since that stupid flamingo bite me at the zoo. Well that's a lie, I do like chickadees and hummingbirds, but only because they're small, cute, and can't bite me.

She gave me a slightly disgusted look before huffing and turning away from, going upstairs. I turned away from where she had left and started putting different sized bread into a paper bag, going to the fridge briefly and fishing out a small bowl of left over bean paste.

"You'll work on the cake tomorrow then?" I heard behind me before turning around to face Miss Yuumi's back as she worked on covering the cupcakes in frosting.

"Yeah, I'll stay after my shift to make it, that way I'll have more time," I said, before walking past her towards the door.

"Amai, don't be too hard on Kyoko, she's had it rough for a few years," she said, briefly pausing.

"…that makes two of us," I said, my back turned to her before I walked out the door and eventually out of the shop. While I was bent on spending most of my temporary free time at West Gate Park, I was suddenly out of the mood, and decided to go straight home. Or maybe I had a feeling that Taka-chan would be home today and I could get the drop on him. And although I was still slightly worried that Chikan-san would be there again today, it seemed doubtful since I hadn't seen him go downstairs for the newspaper this morning.

_DRRR!_

I don't really know how much time had passed while I was walking and eating my bread, apparently at the same time since my bag felt about half a pound lighter, yet here I stood in front of Taka-chan's door, my free hand-that is, my uninjured hand-raised a few millimeters away from the wood of the door. I could've sworn I had done this a thousand times before but for some reason this was more difficult than all the other times combined. I guess this is more difficult because I was asking him for a huge favor. That, and I really didn't want to disturb his sleep after he had working all night. Then again, he had been avoiding me for the last week. Knocking on the door several times, loud enough to make sure that he, as a light sleeper, could hear it, I opened my mouth and started to speak as loud as I dared.

"Taka-chan. Um, I don't really know why, but I know you've been avoiding me. And whether or not that has to do with me as a person, or with what I asked of you, I would really like to know. Even if it's bad for me, I still want to know. And if it's that bad, then I want to know why it has to come between us. I know we see each other a few days a week, but I really value that time, because honestly, you're the closest thing I have to a girlfriend, and I don't want to lose this camaraderie that we have. So…if it is that bad…about the favor I asked of you…then please tell me so I don't have to keep making a fool of myself like this. Talking the middle of the hallway? Not even knowing if you're awake or not? To anyone else this would seem insane. But that's what I like about you Taka-chan, you can actually put up with this insane side of me," I paused, my voice catching as I waited to see if he had heard me or not. When there was no response, I continued on, not knowing if he was actually listening. "Just…just knock on my door and we can talk…alright?"

I stepped away from the door, and hesitantly walked back to my apartment. After unlocking my door and dropping the bag of bread and the container of bean paste in the fridge, I dropped unceremoniously onto the couch face down. I felt tired. Depressed, but tired. And unfortunately, I was out of ice cream, so I couldn't binge eat. Before I could fall asleep in my own personal pity corner, my cell phone started ringing in my pocket.

"Oh god, who the hell is it at four o'clock in the frickin' afternoon?!" I half-grumbled, half-yelled into the phone.

"_Anyone. It's four in the afternoon,"_ the voice responded in an irritated sort of way that was oh so familiar to my ears.

"Hiro-chan~! To what do I owe the pleasure of my favorite irritated person?" I asked in the most happy-positive tone Kazuhiro hated, which is ironic because he's dating a super positive girl.

"_Oh great, we're going through those sappy, cliché greetings now? Huh~ fine. Hey, Nee-chan! It's great to hear your voice! How are you doing?! Have you lost weight? There, are we done now?"_ he asked in a very exasperated tone.

"That last one sounded neither sincere nor possible. But since you asked, no, I'm still bone thin from running so much. So what's up? It's not every day I get a call from the ever annoyed Kazuhiro," I joked, rolling over onto my back.

"_It's about Sora, he's gone missing."_

"…missing. Wh-what do you mean missing?" I asked, too shocked to say much of anything else.

"_Meaning he's gone. Vanished. Absolutely no one can find him."_

"When?!"

"_Sometime after his graduation ceremony from middle school. We lost him in the crowd and figured he'd show up sooner or later."_

"How do you lose a fifteen-year-old boy?!" I shouted into the phone, bolting upright in my seat, staring at nothing.

"_Well, the police said that they found the car at the docks, and one of the people working there said he got on a boat heading for Honshu."_

"Police?! How long has he been gone? Where's he headed?"

"_A couple days. Police think he'll show up any day, but…anyway, we have no idea. We don't know if he's visiting mom's siblings, of if he's headed your way. Just wanted to give you a head's up in case he shows up."_

"What happened this time?" I asked quietly.

"_Don't know. But it must've been really bad this time. Amai, if he shows up on your doorstep, don't be too hard on him, he's had it rough these last few years," _he said, his voice as equally concerned as mine was.

"I know the feeling," I replied, before hanging up on him

'_Sora, where are you? What did they do to make you do this?'_ I thought, starring at my cell as if I expected him to call me and tell me about a cute guy he liked like he used to do a few months ago.

"Give me a sign, give me a sign that my little brother is safe and sound, and is so close that it hurts," I prayed quietly, lowering my face into my hands, feeling silent tears roll down my cheeks as I thought of his sweet smiling face and his happy-go-lucky attitude. I was startled from my thoughts when a loud sound came from the bathroom. I know it wasn't Moo-Moo because she was currently sleeping on top of the fridge. The sound itself was unusual because when the mystery item fell, it sounded like it fell into a bucket of water. The even stranger thing was that I knew it had fallen into the bathtub, but the bathtub has been empty since this morning. So the even stranger question is, why was the tub full of water? And stranger yet, who had filled it?

Someone was in my apartment, and I had a feeling it wasn't Chikan-san.


	16. Chapter 16: What!

Someone is in my apartment. How? The door was locked when I came in, and I hadn't heard a sound all this time. If I was stupid, I would've taken this as the sign I had asked for, but unfortunately, I was too smart to believe this was it. For one thing, it was too convenient, and for another my bathtub didn't have water in it on a good day. And it couldn't have been the sink because it was both too shallow and the plug was missing, not to mention not much was above it anyway for something to fall into it.

Standing up from the couch carefully as to not make any unnecessary noises, I quickly crossed over to the kitchen and picked up the frying pan and walking towards the bathroom door with it raised. From outside the door I heard water splashing and then…the most unusual sound. My suspicions of what were inside raised when I heard it again. Hesitantly I opened the door, albeit awkwardly and with a lot of noise since I couldn't hold the pan in my injured hand, and I had to open the door with the same hand that was holding the pan. When I finally got the handle turned I slowly opened the door with my foot, pan raised only for it to drop down immediately onto the floor when I let out a girlish scream at the sight before.

"_My eyes! My eyes!_ What the hell are you doing here you stupid bastard?!" I yelled, covering my scared eyes and turning away from the awful sight that was a naked Kichiro in my bathtub.

"What happened to knocking before entering?" he asked, getting up out of the water behind me. Unless I wanted my eyes further scared from how they already are, I dared not turn around.

"What happened to calling first? What happened to not taking a bath while the owner of the apartment is gone? What happened to not scaring your sister for life?" I asked, walking quickly away from him and towards the couch. I heard a rustling of clothes behind me and deemed it safe enough to turn around.

"I needed a bath, the water at my place is off for a while and I got a date tonight," he said, slipping a shirt over his wet head before dropping onto the couch.

"A date as in a date? Or is it another one of your booty calls?" I asked, throwing a towel at his head so he wouldn't get water everywhere. "And why didn't you leave a note? I almost broke my foot dropping that pan."

"I did leave a note, I left it on your door," he said, rubbing his head with the towel.

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did. It's right there," he said, pointing towards the main door where there was indeed a sticky note with words scrawled across it. I walked over to the door quickly and plucked the note off the door and read through it quickly.

"'Dear Amai, got a date tonight, please lend me your shower for the time being. Signed Kichiro.' How could I have possibly seen this if it was taped to the opposite side of the door?"

"I figured you wouldn't be home for a while so if I was done before you were back, I could leave without being noticed. Anyway, what's up? You're pissed more than normal." Trust Kichiro to see right through me.

"Do you know? Did they call you?"

"I got a voice mail to call Carney back, but I haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Sora's gone."

"Gone? Like, at a cousin's house or something?"

"No, he ran away. Probably p-packed a bag and everything, right after his middle school g-graduation." Around this point my voice started to choke up and I couldn't speak anymore. Kichiro noticed immediately and held his arms open in an invitation. I took it and got wrapped tightly between his arms and his body as he rocked me back and forth like I was a little kid again. It was through times like these that Kichiro really felt like my older brother. It's too bad these times are few and far in between.

"How long?" he asked quietly.

"A couple days. Kazuhiro said that someone at the docks saw him hitch a ride on a boat. So, he might be headed here," I said, my face smashed into his shirt making my words muffled.

"Might. Hah, that's an understatement. He loves you so much, there's no doubt he'd immediately come here, knowing what you know about how school is, and how small minded people can be," he said, his arms tightened around me. Kichiro would never admit it, being the big, tough, womanizing man he is, but when times like these happens, he turns into the softest of teddy bears. If only girls could see past his flirtatious and pervy ways.

"Actually, when I came into the bathroom, I thought it might be Sora. I'm really sad it wasn't Sora," I mumbled.

"Sorry to disappoint," Kichiro laughed half-heartedly. "It's only been a few days, he might be resourceful, but it still takes a while to get here on foot." He let go after a little while and stood up, leaving the damp towel, and me, on the couch. When he reached the door, he didn't turn around, but he spoke, "Give him a few days, he'll show up by then, I guarantee it, so don't worry so much for the time being." He turned a little and smiled at me before opening the door and leaving.

I smiled a little at the close door, thinking to myself, _'Easier said than done.'_

_DRRR!_

Three days ago was the last time I got a phone call from Kazuhiro. Three days, that was the guarantee that Kichiro gave me. Today marks a week since Sora ran away, counting of course the two days before Kazuhiro had called me, and so far no one's seen hide nor hair of him yet. I was still hopeful about what Kichiro said though, that he would come straight to me, nevertheless, I did what I always did when I was nervous and/or worried: I made desserts. Which is why I am currently standing outside of Monowa-san's apartment. Despite disliking each other, I was on cookie overload, not to mention I was using this opportunity to score good neighbor points with her. Knowing full well that she hated my guts, it was still a surprise she opened the door.

"Monowa-san," I greeted.

"Tachibana-kun," she said back, "What's with the plate?" she asked, nodding her heads towards the plate piled high with cookies in my hand.

"I make cookies when I'm nervous, and I'm _really_ nervous. So…I, um, I thought you might want some."

"Didn't ask Takazawa-san first?"

"He's been avoiding me lately. But I left an ice cream pail full of cookies outside his door an hour ago and when I looked again they were gone," I explained while Monowa-san looked at her nails tiredly. Well, one of them was looking, the other looked kind of…bruised? Maybe squinted shut would be a better word, but it looked a little yellow, like it was healing.

"Is your eye okay? It looks a little…bruised." I said, not sure how to point it out, or how her reaction would be. Not at all to my surprise, she gave me a sneer and retorted,

"Yeah, my pimp wasn't happy with my results so he taught me a lesson. Whatzit look like to you?"

"I'm sorry, was that serious or sarcastic? Cause I can hold him down next time and you can hit him, rob, do what you want with him if you want me to," I replied, I wasn't trying to be funny, but she burst out laughing anyway. Is it my face? Was I too serious?

"You're so freaking serious," she laughed, "it's a joke dumbass. One of my customers got a little too frisky. I might as well tell you the truth, about your brother and me-," she began before I cut her off sharply.

"No no, that's okay, I don't need to know anything. Especially something that will stain my brothers' already stained reputation."

"We didn't do anything. The idiot took off his clothes the second he stepped into my apartment, and started to whine about his family," she said, her laughing dying down a little.

"You don't know how much that makes me feel relieved…surprisingly not very much," I replied, handing her the plate of cookies.

"You're so serious Tachibana-kun, you really need to get some," she said, taking a bite of the top most cookie, "Spoke too soon, I guess you already do."

Upon seeing my questioning face, she gestured down the hall at the tall blonde coming up the steps. Seeing as how there was no brunette with him, I guessed he was here for me.

"There's nothing between us, trust me," I said deadpanned, grimacing a little on the outside when I saw him smoking a cigarette.

"I can tell that much just by looking at your face. Too bad though, he looks yummy," she purred, her eyes looking him up and down before winking at me and retreating back into her apartment with my plate. I have to remind myself to get that plate back later. I left the space in front of her doorway and met Shizuo on his way to mine. I could already tell why he came, so before he could take out his cigarette to talk, I was opening my door and ushering him inside. While the smoke and nicotine form his cigarette were overwhelming, the scent inside my apartment, was over powering, I could tell that much by the expression on his face when we entered, me before him. Today is a Sunday, and since I don't work on Sundays, it is an all-day bake-a-thon with me alone. Since Sora had been causing me to worry so much, I ended up covering all things that had to do with baking desserts at the bakery. It kept my hands and mind busy, and I didn't mind working the extra hours in the kitchen despite having my pay cut for overtime.

"How long have you been cooking?" Shizuo asked taking his cigarette out of his mouth and placing it inside of a small paper packet, a slight hint of amazement in his voice. Which, of course, was understandable since every available surface was covered in chocolate, sugar, and peanut butter cookies.

"Technically it's baking, and just about nine hours," I replied, walking over to the oven to check on the batch I had put in less than twenty minutes ago.

"You've been baking since eight A.M.?" he asked, although it couldn't really be a question.

"Yeah, I bake when I'm nervous," I said taking the sheet out of the oven one handedly, I was in a bit of a dilemma on where to place the hot sheet but Shizuo helped me out by picking up a cooling rack. I placed the sheet down and started placing hot cookies onto the already full cooling racks.

"Hey, as repayment for last week, take as many as you want," I said seeing him eye one of the dozens of chocolate chips I had stored in plastic ice cream pails.

"No, I really shouldn't," he mumbled, but he while he said this, he wouldn't stop staring at them.

"Come on 'quiet hero'. You'd be doing me a favor by relieving me of a couple thousand cookies," I joked, only half kidding, although really there were probably eight or nine pails. He stopped looking at what must be a child's dream to glance at me. Although this too looked like he was staring. Finally he seemed to decide what to do and started to shuffle his feet towards one of the pails. I had to borrow many of the pails from Miss Yuumi. When I saw her closet, my mind went immediately to 'pack-rat'.

"I'll take a couple for Shinra. When do you want to get going?" he asked, picking up two different pails and a third one most likely for himself.

"Right now would be best. Anymore baking and my cookie sheets will melt and my oven will explode," I joked, again only half kidding, like everything else in this apartment, the oven is very fickle. He nodded and headed towards the door, waiting patiently for me to open it for him. Afterwards when we had both exited the apartment and the building, we began the long journey to Shinra's.

_DRRR!_

It had been mostly silent between the two of us, except for some desperate attempts at conversation made mainly by me that ended up falling flat. The long silence was broken when we were a few blocks away from Shinra's apartment by the ever quiet Shizuo.

"Last week…how come you didn't…you know…um…" he tried to say, but fell silent.

"Cry? Shake? Go through hysterics?" I offered, trying to help him out of his silence. It's always nice to have a conversation flow longer than that of a pin. He nodded his head, glancing at me from time to time as we walked into the lobby of the apartment complex.

"My shower's broken," I replied, stepping into the elevator. He waited for me to say more, stepping in beside me as I pushed the button, but when I said nothing more, he asked a short and sweet 'what?'

"That's all the answer I'm giving you, so you better drop it immediately," I said curtly, stepping out as the doors opened on Shinra's floor. I heard Shizuo huff angrily behind me as I stepped up to the door and knocked a few times. Although I couldn't see it, I could feel Shizuo staring at me again. Although anyone else would have made me feel really uncomfortable, for some reason, when Shizuo did this, I felt really pissed off for no reason.

"Stop staring at me jackass or else I'll kick your ass all the way to Hokkaido!" I shouted at him, whipping around so fast my hair grazed his chest. Lucky for him I was so short or my hair would have slapped him for me. His stare turned to a glare as he looked down at me, his mouth twitching into a frown, and his eye brow twitching slightly in frustration.

"I'm not staring kid," he growled, his grip tightening on the handles of the pails.

"Then enlighten me, what were you doing if you weren't staring?" I growled back. Before he could the answer, the door opened behind me and I saw Shizuo's eyes widen as he looked at whatever was behind me. Before I could look at whoever opened the door, Shizuo pushed past me roughly, and closed the door to the apartment before I could so much as glance at the person. I stood there, looking dumbly at the door as I registered what had just happened. Once figured what had just happened, I started to hit the door with my uninjured fist.

"If you didn't want me to come in then you shouldn't have dragged me halfway across the city, jackass!" I yelled getting mire pissed by the second when all I heard was furtive whispering and some kind of quiet clicking sound.

"At least thank me for my generous offering before I walk all the way back to crumby apartment," I tried unsuccessfully to stifle my laughter at my pun. When my laughter had partially subsided, Shizuo had opened the door, and stood beside it, waiting for me to get over my laughing fit.

"Changed your mind?" I asked nonchalantly, leaning against the door frame.

"Just get in here kid," Shizuo grunted irritably, opening the door a bit wider.

"So how come I was left out of th-! Hello, nice to meet you." I greeted, pausing briefly when I saw the Black Rider standing before me. He started typing on his PDA of sorts and showed me the screen soon after.

**[Hello, nice to meet you Tachibana-san.]**

"You know my name?"

**[My roommate has told me about you before, also we've sort of met once.]**

"Did we?"

**[You threw someone in front of my motorcycle a few months back.] **Judging by the tone of the message, he probably said this with a deadpanned look on his face, but I couldn't tell because of the obstructive helmet.

"Oh, sorry, I can't remember all the people who I throw into traffic, just the ones that try to sue me." I say try because when the time for lawyers comes into play, I always have Colm and Kichiro on my side despite being law students, also no guy wants to admit he got his ass kicked by a girl.

"So, you're Kishitani-kun's roommate Celty-san? I didn't know Kishitani-kun played that way," I said, looking over at a smiling Shinra standing within inches of the Black Rider, A.K.A. Celty-san.

**['Play that way'? What do you mean?]** Celty-san asked.

"Kishitani-kun said you guys were married the first time we met, so I'm guessing you guys are gay?" I said, my statement turning into a question at the end upon seeing Shinra's shocked face.

"No, no, no, no, no! Celty is one hundred percent female!" Shinra protested, making a large X across his chest for an emphasized 'no'.

"There's no need to be so embarrassed Kishitani-kun. I have a brother who's into guys too. Although, I would have thought that you would be the uke instead of Celty-san," I pondered, just because Shinra seemed a little girlish in his mannerisms.

**[Shinra's actually right Tachibana-san. I am female,] **Celty-san typed upon seeing Shinra's flustered face and stuttered reply that couldn't really be a reply if all he said was 'Tha-tha-tha-tha-'. As If I needed further proof of his gender, he unzipped his motorcycle suit enough for me to see _her_ cleavage.

"Oh. Ohhhhhhh. Oh, okay, now your feminine figure makes sense. Sorry about the mix-up. From all the rumors I overhear about you, you seem like a real badass."

**[It's alright, a lot of people seem to think that.]**

"I should introduce myself properly. My name is Tachibana Amai, feel free to call me Amai. It's nice ta meet'cha."

**[My name is Celty Sturluson. You can keep calling me Celty,]** she typed, showing me the screen.

"Sturluson…'scuse me for asking, but where are you from?" For some reason, her name sounded really foreign, probably because it is.

**[I came here from Ireland about twenty years ago. I've been living Shinra for…um…along time,]** she typed, repeatedly hesitating every few seconds.

"Ireland? Seriously?! My dad is from there! He and most of his family moved to Hokkaido thirty-something years ago when he was sixteen!" I exclaimed, suddenly excited.

**[Really? If it weren't for your hair color, I wouldn't have guessed! I thought you just dye it that way.]**

"Is it common in Ireland? Back in high school everyone said the color was unnatural and accused me of dying it because I was delinquent."

**[The color is bright but most people do have red hair,]** she responded, pointing to her head. I thought back to all the marshmallows thrown at my head during overnight field trips, and found this made some sense since my hair looked as if it would burst into flames any second.

"Celty-san, why are you wearing a helmet? We're indoors so you can take it off right?" I asked, wondering if she could talk without the helmet on. She was probably using a PDA because it was hard to talk in a helmet, right?

**[Umm, well, that's-]**

"She's clumsy. She trips sometimes and might hit her head," Shizuo interrupted, causing my head to snap in his direction because of both the unexpectedness and the surprise at hearing him talk.

"Oh, okay," I said slowly, not really believing his words, but upon seeing his stubborn face chose to half way believe him. In the suddenness of his statement, the air around us had grown a little tense since the issue of Celty-san's helmet came up. Luckily Shinra broke the tenseness by bringing up my visit. While I wanted to know the circumstances by which Celty moved to Japan in the first place, the topic never came up, and before I could ask her about it, she left after Shinra had rewrapped my hand. He told me my hand had been healing nicely and that I would be able to use it as normal in a less than a week or so, but stressed the importance of not stressing it too much. After he was done, and I had given him the pails of cookies for him to enjoy, Shizuo offered to walk me home, and I gratefully accepted, seeing the sun had begun to disappear behind the horizon, and also wanting to know why he had been staring at me so much.

Like the talk on the way to Shinra's apartment was dead, the talk on the way back to mine was practically nonexistent. Every time I had wanted to ask him why he had stared at me so much, he seemed to always be deep in thought about something or other, and I couldn't seem to find a good time to ask him. Although that amount of respect for his personal thoughts was thrown out the window when we were within a few blocks of my apartment.

"Alright, I'm going to ask you a question, and you better answer me this time," I said, pointing my finger in his face. He blinked, giving me blank yet slightly surprised look. I took that blank, surprised look as a signal to go on.

"Why have you been staring at me so much today? And last week too! Why did you look at me like that before you left? Is it my hair color? Do I look weird? Did I do something to spike your interest, what?!" I ranted, glaring up at him while he stared down at me. He looked at me for a second longer before turning his face away from me.

"You look like someone I saw that night you…anyway it's nothing, I'll see you later I guess," he said, turning around and heading back in the direction we had come from.

"Wait, last week? Wait did this person look like?" I asked, catching his arm and grabbing his sleeve in between my fingers.

"Uh, I don't know…he was about your height," he said looking at me a little confused.

"His hair, what color was his hair?" I asked, my voice catching a bit.

"I don't know, it was dark, but it looked a little like yours did in the dark."

"Do you know what he did? Where he went?" I asked, getting really hopeful.

"He was with a woman with long hair, they went into your neighbors' apartment. Why are you asking?" he asked, looking a little bit concerned. But that look quickly changed into that of surprise when I threw my arms around his waist and hugged him as tightly as physically possible.

"Shizuo, you have no idea how much this means to me," I said, letting go of him as quickly as I had latched onto him, turning on my heel and sprinting down the block. "Thank you Heiwajima-san!" I shouted behind me, glancing very quickly at his still surprised face. If I was listening to anything besides the wind rushing past my ears, I would have the quiet 'you're welcome' that passed through his lips. And if I had been looking at anything besides the slightly dilapidated apartment building ahead of me, I would've seen the slight wave of his hand. As well as the light blush on his face.

_DRRR!_

I hadn't really thought of what I would do once I had reached the apartment building and had climbed the stairwell. And now that I was standing in front of Mr. Takazawa'a apartment, I also didn't know what to say. While I was glad my brother had been safe and sound this whole week, I was also pissed beyond imagination that he hadn't made any attempt whatsoever to contact any of us and tell us where he was, or if he was safe or not. With this thought in mind, as well as the knowledge that Taka-chan didn't work tonight, I was all set to kick his ass too for not telling me anything, and kick down his door if necessary. These doors were so cheap, I'm surprised knocking didn't make them crumble to dust.

"Takazawa! You open this damn door now! I know Sora's in there and I'll give you to the count of five before I kick this door open!" I shouted, angrily pounding on the door with my good hand, seeing as the other one was still wrapped in a brace.

"One!" I shouted, stepping away from the door.

"Two! Three!" I shouted, backing up to the wall.

"Four!" I shouted, running at the door.

"FIVE!" I shouted, my heel connecting with the wood. The door broke under the weight of my kick and swung open, hitting the inside wall of the apartment. Splintered wood fell to the floor from the door frame, and the two people inside looked equally surprised, albeit one of them looked furious.

"What? I gave fair warning."


	17. Chapter 17: Oh Brother

**Attention dear readers, in less than two weeks I will be starting my first year of college! So needless to say, I will be busy this week and next week with moving in to my dorm. And also all the school work that comes with college. So the next chapter and so on will be variable in my busy college life. But not to worry! I never leave things as they are half way finished or half-assed. It's like a policy of mine. So stay tuned folks!**

"Ma-Ma-Maggie nee-sama, wh-wh-what are you doing here?" stuttered a horribly distraught Sora from behind a beyond furious Takazawa-san.

"Don't 'Maggie nee-sama' me, Sora. _You fool!_ Do you have any idea how worried everyone is about you?!" I shouted, hands clenched into fists.

"B-but Maggie nee-chan, you don't understa-," Sora started.

"I don't understand? Don't you dare tell me that 'I don't understand' because I understand plenty."

"Amai. How dare you break down my door!" Takazawa-san said, making me break my glare away from my frightened little brother, to focus my attention on him.

"'How dare I?' _How dare you?!_ How dare you ignore me for these last two weeks? How dare you blatantly ignore every word, knock, and plead I directed at your door when you home? And finally, how _dare_ you keep my brother away from me. My brother who ran away from his home, and for all I knew was dead in a gutter somewhere, alone. How dare you take the little happiness that knowing he was safe all this time away from me? _How dare I? What right do you have not tell me that he was safe all along? WHERE THE HELL DO YOU GET OFF KEEPING THAT FROM ME!_" I said, screaming these last few words at him making him visibly uncomfortable and direct his eyes anywhere else but at mine.

"Maggie," Sora said, so softly that if the room hadn't gone utterly silent from my rant, I couldn't have possibly heard him.

"What," I said coldly, turning my icy glare away from Takazawa-san and towards the slightly quivering form of Sora who had removed himself from behind Takazawa-san and was now standing before. And then he raced across the room and flung his arms around my middle, burying his face into my neck and sobbing freely.

"I'm sorry, Maggie. I'm so sorry," he wept, hugging me tighter until I couldn't help but lose all my steam and wrap my arms around his thin, frail shoulders, holding him against me as he wet my t-shirt and my neck. I don't know how long it was before I felt tears coursing down my cheeks and dripping into his bright red hair.

"I'm so glad you're safe Sora," I muttered into his hair.

"I'm so sorry, Maggie," Sora said.

"Sora, if you really are sorry, then take off the damn skirt."

_DRRR!_

"Okay, let's start from the beginning again. I'll start, and you fill in the blanks. You disappeared from your middle school graduation only to go…"

"Home."

"And you got there by…"

"Hotwiring a car."

"And you learned this how?"

"Kazuhiro nii-san."

"Alright, that makes sense. So you're at home. Why?"

"I needed to get my stuff."

"And you got here by…"

"The train."

"And you're with Takazawa-san why?"

"I couldn't find your address and someone pointed me to a gay bar."

"I thought you worked a club-type sort of thing," I said to Takazawa=san who sat next to me on his couch, while Sora sat on top of his coffee table.

"It's a bar and a club. Let's not knit pick the details and get this story over with," Takazawa-san said, irritated.

"Agreed. So tell me, why is Sora wearing a skirt, _Minori-san_?" I asked, directing my question and glare at the man next to me. I only ever used Takazawa-san's given name when I was especially pissed at him, and he knew this, which is why he flinched.

"Well…you never wear any cute clothes or dresses or skirts, and you two look so similar I couldn't help but take advantage of seeing how you would look in a skirt for once. Unfortunately, he's not well endowed like you are."

"Then ask me instead of making my brother have gender identity issues," I grumbled, putting my head in my hand and looking at him with a little irritation.

"I don't gender identity issues," Sora argued from across the room, pulling on a pair of pants from his backpack.

"Good, then never put on a skirt again," I said deadpanned.

"What's wrong with wearing a skirt, Amai-chan?" Takazawa-san said menacingly.

"Nothing if you don't have any worries about your penis showing when the wind blows your skirt up," I said, equally as menacing. Just because I was acting good naturedly towards Takazawa-san now, didn't mean I wasn't still pissed at him.

"For the last time Tachibana-chan, I'm a _transvestite_, not a _transsexual_. If you want to see my penis, you're free to, I have no qualms," Takazawa-san said cheekily. Although this was meant as a good natured rib, it caused my throat to close up and my hands to clench my knees almost self-consciously. And while I knew that he himself wasn't looking at me with a leerful look, and even though we both played for the same team, it still caused me stress.

"Sora, pack up you're things, we're going back to my place."

"Ah, um, okay Maggie," Sora said, zipping up his bag before suddenly ducking into the bathroom.

"Aww~ you're leaving so soon Amai-chan? I didn't do anything wrong did I?" he said, quickly adding a "this time" when he saw my deadpanned face.

Running a hand through my hand, I sighed, my face softening a bit from its harsh undertone. "It's not anything you did, it's just me."

He looked at me, seeming to study my face and whatever emotion was written there. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word, a loud and resounding "quack" was heard from behind us in the bathroom. "Oh my god, Sora, you brought that stupid duck?!" I shouted, looking behind me at the door as it opened to reveal the feathered fiend itself.

"Aki-chan is _not _stupid. And of course I had to take him with me, you've seen how Carney looks at him," Sora protested hugging Aki close to his chest in a very protective. Of course I know what he meant, if Sora hadn't brought him Carney wouldn't have wasted two seconds to roast Aki's feathered ass.

"How did…what did…shit, it's way too late for this. Okay, bring Aki and we'll talk about this when we're in my apartment," I sighed, feeling three years older than I really am. Sora, with Aki under one arm and his overstuffed backpack under the other, waited patiently by the forcibly opened door while I got up tiredly and walked towards the both of them.

"Aren't you going to thank Takazawa-san for letting you stay here for the week?" I asked, rubbing the top of his head, and avoiding Aki's entirely. He quickly thanked him, bowing a bit at the waist and quickly regaining his balance when he started to tilt forward a little too much. When we crossed through the door frame, I quickly remembered that I had broken his door and turned back towards him and told him I would pay for the damage between my next two paychecks.

"Money tight Amai-chan?" Takazawa asked, concern etched onto his face.

"If you had bothered to open your door at all, you would've known sooner," I quipped at him.

"My door's open right now, do you want to talk about it."

"Not really, if I come back tomorrow will you're door still be open?" I asked, handing my key to an impatient Sora who shifting his feet from side to side in keeping silent about his slight discomfort.

"Yeah, just push it open," he joked, waving me away. I waved back and left the apartment. When I walked into mine next door, I heard rushing water coming from the bathroom and I saw my cat's litter box against the wall that separated my bedroom and bathroom door.

"Sora, you can't kick my cat's bathroom out of the bathroom," I said knocking on the door.

"Would you rather have him walking around the apartment?" he asked form beyond the door as the rushing water came to the stop and the distinctive sound of a large object hit the water. The kid had me there, I didn't want the duck from hell waddling around my apartment.

"Say Sora, how long are you planning to stay?" I asked leaning against the door.

"Are you kicking me out?" he asked, that heartbreaking hurtful tone edging his voice.

"No, no sweetie, I'm just wondering how far you thought this whole…running away thing through," I said carefully so that he didn't feel unwanted here.

"To be honest I didn't really think that far. I just…I just had to get away, you know? Everyone there…they all make fun of me. If it's not about my hair, or how I look like a leprechaun, it's about me being gay," he said quietly, his back hitting the other side of the door softly before he slid down to the floor. I sighed, sinking to the ground behind him, resting my head against the door.

"Yeah, I can relate. I mean, not about the gay thing, but some guys on the baseball team thought I was a lesbian," I said, trying to lift his mood with a little light humor. Needless to say, it didn't work. "Look kiddo, you can't stay here forever, you know that, right?"

"…Yeah, I know," he said quietly, his voice muffled by the door.

"And besides, don't you have someone waiting for you? You know, that guy you're dating," I said, trying to perk him up a bit, but in the end, sating the worst possible thing.

"Noboru's a _bastard!_ I never wanna see that asshole ever again!" Sora shouted, startling Aki by the sound of the water splashing around inside.

"Wh-what did he do?" I asked, surprised by his sudden change in mood.

"You want to know?! _He broke up with me!_ The day before graduation and he just walks up to me in the hallway in front of _everyone_, and he just says "Sorry Sora, but I was just confused. So let's break up." What the hell kind of break up is that? We went out for five months! It's not fair," he shouted, before breaking down in tears.

"Oh no, sweetie, don't cry," I fused, opening the door and drawing his back to my chest in an awkward embrace.

"I'm not crying," he argued, turning around and slipping his arms around my middle, burying his head into my shirt.

"Okay, then stop leaking," I said rubbing his back while his tears continued to stain my shirt. "Sora, I'm going to tell you some things someone very important to me once said. You can change your hair, but then you're giving into everyone else. Leprechauns are considered lucky, so don't think of it as an insult, and, and I'm paraphrasing here, but, you will find someone someday, and that person is going to cherish every bit of your weird self."

"Where did you hear all that?" he asked through sniffles.

"Mom."

"You didn't phrase her correctly, but thanks Maggie," he said letting go of me.

"Yeah, you're welcome. I said, standing up before pulling Sora up in front of me.

"Are you going to call home? Tell everyone that I'm here?" he asked, looking at me nervously.

"Probably tomorrow, it's too late to call them tonight. Speaking of which, we should probably go to bed. Do you want the futon or the couch?"

"I'll take the couch," he said, wiping his eyes with the heel of his hand and walking past me to go to the couch. I grabbed his shoulder, making him stop in his tracks and look back at me.

"Say that one more time only with the right answer," I smiled. He shivered at my tone, what little menace I had put into my voice had managed to scare him.

"Th-the futon, I'll take the futon." He stuttered, picking up his backpack and stumbling towards my bedroom. After he was through the door, closing it behind him quickly, I felt eyes on me, and when I turned, I saw Aki looking at me with what felt like a glare.

"I'm nothing if not a gracious host," I retorted to him, closing the door with an audible slam.

_DRRR!_

I don't know why I got this couch. It's lumpy, uncomfortable on one side, and I can't really get a good night's sleep. I kinda feel bad for making Shizuo sue it last week now. And if I really thought about it, I already knew why I kept this couch. It was cheap, I didn't have to move it, and the people who lived here before left it behind because they couldn't figure out how to get it through the door, which actually begs the question, how did they get it in in the first place? But it wasn't the couch that woke me up today, or the couch that put me in a bad mood that morning. No, it was the constant staring from Aki, Sora's pet duck. I hate Aki, I hate him so, so much. Despite having found him as an egg down by the riverside behind the house, he hated me with a passion. I had found him three years ago, and every day he woke me up by creeping me out. And proceeding to bite at my legs when I got up. Having not seen him for several months, he still remembered this routine.

"Sora! Control your bird," I shouted at him.

"Come here Aki, time for breakfast," Sora said, waving a slice of bread in the air, causing Aki to waddle over and wait for Sora to drop it.

"Okay Sora, I have to leave for work in a few minutes, so get yourself ready," I said, walking into my bedroom to root around in my dresser and closet. Moo-Moo scampered out the door as soon I opened it, quickly running into the living room and making Aki rustle his feathers agitatedly at the feline. Sora quickly picked Aki up and held him out of reach of the curious feline. I changed in the minimal silence the room provided me, my door acting as a buffer for the agitated noises of the three in my living room/kitchen. When I came back out, I instructed Sora to leave Aki in the bathroom and leave enough food inside for several hours. He asked me why he had to tag along with me, and I answered "because I said so," every time. The truth is I am a little afraid he might disappear on me again, and if he had to be around me constantly to reaffirm that he was not going anywhere, then so be it.

"Hey Maggie, what are all these?" he asked, pointing at the various pails stacked on the counter by the fridge.

"Cookies I made when I thought you were in some gutter somewhere," I answered, exiting the apartment with Sora in tow.

"You made that many?" he asked.

"What can I say, you make me nervous kiddo."

_DRRR!_

With each person that came through the shop, my skepticism that Sora and I didn't look alike gradually weared away as people repeatedly asked me if "the cute boy sitting at the table" was my twin. Although I had explained several times that Sora is eight years my junior, people refused to believe me. Miss Yuumi seemed to think that we looked alike as well. Despite what people said, how we both have the same bright red hair, and pale skin and splatter of freckles across our noses, and how we're the same height, I refused to believe it, maybe because on some unconscious level I liked my individuality.

"Maggie nee-sama, when is your break?" Sora asked me from the table closest to my post.

"Half an hour, can you hold out that long?" I asked him, handing back some change to a customer before she left.

"I think I can," he said dejectedly, fidgeting with his feet.

"Maggie-san, let the poor boy go, can't you see he's hungry?" Kyoko mocked, snickering at the use of my second name.

"Hey! That name is reserved to family only. And can't you see that your baby is hungry? Give him your breast already so he can continue growing."

"I can't, your brother keeps staring at me. Make him stop," Kyoko whined from her seat across from him.

"I can't stop him from staring at clucking hens," I retorted, snickering to myself under my breath.

She glared at me before breaking it away to tend to her crying baby, cooing to him and bouncing him in her arms to try to soothe him. He didn't stop and eventually I was forced to help Kyoko to stop his crying. Not just for his sake or her sake, but for the sake of everyone in and around this building.

She didn't make as much of a fuss as I thought she would when I asked her to let me try to calm him down, which goes to show how stressed she is. Kyoko got up carefully and tucked little Hideki into my waiting arms before going to take over my place as another customer entered to store. "Come on Hideki, stop crying now. It's okay, little one, it's alright. Come now, no fussing," I cooed softly to him as I sat down in the chair Kyoko had previously sat in. "Come now, stop those tears."

It wasn't immediate, but his crying had started to wan and after several more minutes of cooing to him softly, his sweet little face relaxed out of its angry state. "Oh thank god it stopped," Sora sighed, resting his head on the wood of the table, and letting his hands slid away from his ears to drop to his sides.

Under the table, I kicked his leg, making him let out a loud yelp. "Hush up. I remember when you were a wee babe you cried twice as much." I smirked at his pouting face before he again lowered it to the table, letting out an agitated groan. I laughed to myself, quietly as to not jostle the baby in my arms and send him into another fit.

"You're like a natural. How did you do that?" Kyoko asked in quiet awe from where she stood a few feet away.

"It's nothing, I've just had a lot of practice." I stood up carefully form the chair and gently folded Hideki back in Kyoko's arms. She looked at me, considering me almost, before finally speaking.

"You know, even though people say you're a real hard ass and a bitch and a-."

"Okay, I get it, moving on please," I interrupted, feeling like if she went on, I would either burst into flames from embarrassment or break down crying.

"Anyway, even though those people say those things, I think that someday you'll find a nice guy and have a family of your own," she finished, smiling down at me while at the same time rocking Hideki back and forth in her arms.

"Yeah, I'm sure the guy I'm destined to be with will just walk through the door," I joked, pointing my thumb at the door. The jingle of bells that were hooked to the front door to signal the arrival of a person drew us out of our conversation to look at the person who had just come in.

"Are you trying to poison me?" he asked, through angry pants of breath. I looked away from him to look at Kyoko.

"This doesn't mean anything," I said deadpan while she chuckled to herself, trying to stifle it unsuccessfully. "What do you mean poison?" I asked, directing my attention back to the tall blond man before me.

"I mean those cookies you gave me yesterday were full of salt," he fumed glaring down at me.

"Were not, they're sugar cookies. Sugar. No salt should be in them," I disagreed, directing a glare of my own up at him.

"Maggie, is it possible that you misread the amounts in the directions?" Sora said from beside me. I paled slightly at his words since this has happened several other times back home.

"Eh heh heh, I guess that was a mistake on my part, sorry," I laughed, rubbing my neck sheepishly in embarrassment of my mistake.

"A mistake? The amount in one alone could kill someone!"

"Hey, if you realized the amount in one bite, then it's a good thing you didn't eat the whole thing."

"You almost kill someone and this is how you handle it?" he asked through gritted teeth, hands clenched in his pockets.

"I said I was sorry. Now relax before you blow up and break someone," I said, putting up my hands in hopes to calm him down, when in reality this just added more fuel to an already huge fire.

"_Don't tell me to calm down when you almost kill me!_" he shouted, his arm shooting out to grab a hold of my shirt, and bringing me close enough to him form me to smell nicotine and smoke that perfumed his clothes. The only difference between the last time he grabbed my shirt, and this time was both my feet are on the ground.

"Shizuo, I can give you either pain or pleasure. Let go of my shirt, or I'll make my own call," I said calmly, looking up at him sternly, like a mother scolding her child. He continued to glare at me, not saying anything, it was then I made my own call. When I was going through multiple books on how to control my anger issues, I found out two things. One, how to calm myself down, via my earlobes. And two, how to make someone submit to me, via the top of their ears. And so I did just this, reaching up enough to pinch the top of his ear and twist it sharply towards myself. Although I doubted myself if this would actually work, it was evident when his knees hit the floor and he let go of my person, reaching up instead to grasp my wrist. He looked away from my arm and looked up at me instead, glaring a bit as well as silently asking me how or why.

"While other people will put up with all these outbursts and threats, I won't stand for that bullshit. Every time you act out in anger, every time you threaten me or someone else near me, I _will_ make you submit to me," I said, letting go of him. He gradually stood up, looking at me, considering me and my words before scoffing at me and leaving out the door, hands shoved in his pockets. When he left, it was like a great amount of tension had left with him, leaving an even greater amount of awkward tension behind.

"Nee-chan, you really are a badass. You just took on Shizuo Heiwajima and won!" Sora said excitedly from behind me.

"How do _you_ know him?" I asked looking at him questionably.

"I read _Tokyo Warrior._" He said plain and simple, as if that made all the sense in the world.


	18. Chapter 18: Taste of Ash

**I'm thinking of changing the second genre form general to something else. The first will still be romance, but what about the second? Anyone have an idea? **

"Aaaaaaaand break time. Come on, Sora, let's get lunch," I said, pulling him up from his chair and shaking him until he woke up. He rubbed his eyes, and when he finally registered what I had said, a tired grin spread across his face as he followed me, albeit a little shakily, to the front door.

"Wait, wait, wait! Tachibana-san, you can't leave me here on my own! What if Hideki starts crying again and a customer comes in? I can't handle them both at once!" Kyoko exclaimed, rushing around the glass counter and grabbing my hand in an attempt to keep me from leaving.

"How do you handle it when it's your shift?" I asked, trying to shake her hand off, but ending up unsuccessful as she kept tightening her grip on both my wrist and her hold on the baby.

"I have a friend who babysits for me, but she's not available until three today. Please, you have to help me," she begged, watery tears dew dropping the corners of her eyes. God, if I could name one weakness out of the few I have, it's when grown women cry in front of me.

Biting my lip, I thought out a few solutions that would solve our problems. I could take Hideki with Sora and I on our lunch run, but I doubted my ability to hold a baby and walk at the same time. Another possibility would be sending Sora to the nearest convenience store, but there is no way in hell I was sending Sora out on his own in this crazy, messed up city. So yeah, that option isn't technically an option. The only one that seemed best would be to leave Sora with a few instructions on child care while I went out and got us some food.

"Okay, Sora, if Hideki starts crying again, either hold him and bounce him gently, or give him to Kyoko-san, and take care of any customers that come in while I'm gone," I said quickly, pulling my arm free of Kyoko's grasp.

"Wait, what about you?" Sora asked, looking a little pale at the idea of being left partially on his own to take care of a stranger's baby.

"What else? I'm going on a food run. Just…eat some melon bread until I get back, okay?" I said, backing out of the door and narrowly escaping Sora's sounds of protest. As much as I hated leaving Sora on his own to fend for himself against a wailing baby and a controlling woman, this was sort of like my revenge on him for making me, and the whole family, worry so much over his brief disappearance.

"Hey."

Which reminds me, I should call home sometime today to let them know Sora's with me.

"Hey."

I should probably call Colm and Kichiro too to put their minds at ease.

"_Hey!_"

"_What?!_" I shouted, turning around to face whoever was shouting at me. Behind me, sitting on the ground with his back against the wall of the bakery, sat the tall blonde man who had, less than half an hour ago, accused me of almost killing him. He looked up at me with an expression that was partway between frustration and determination.

"Oh, Heiwajima-san, how long have you been there?" I asked, retracing my steps to stand before him.

"Not long," he replied in his gruff voice, standing up before me. I looked him up and down, taking in his relaxed posture and his calm face before coming to a conclusion.

"Did you really come here because of the salt, or was it something else," I asked. He shrugged one shoulder, as if telling me I was half right. "That back there, you weren't really angry, were you," I said, more as a statement than as a question. He shook his head once, confirming my suspicions. "Huh, your anger did seem a bit weak and your reason did seem a little flawed," I surmised.

He harrumphed, "So now you're an acting critic?" he asked, looking at me over the edge of his sun glasses.

I smiled up at him in a sort of mocking gesture. "Yeah, I guess I am. So tell me, if not for the salt, then why did you come here?" I asked, walking away from him and down the street. I stopped, looking behind me to see him standing still, looking at me. "Dude, come on, it's my lunch break. Let's get a move on, I'm starving," I said, walking over to him and grabbing his sleeve, pulling him along with me.

"Hey, I really am sorry about the death dose of salt, I guess I was more nervous than I let on," I rambled, letting go of his sleeve.

"It's fine, I don't really care about that," he said in passing.

"No it's not. Hey, if you're still willing to hang around me for another hour, I can treat you to a strawberry cheesecake back at the bakery," I insisted.

"It's fine, I don't need-"

"Take the damn offer or I'll kick your ass Heiwajima-kun," I said as threateningly nonthreatening as possible. "That reminds me, did that ear thing I did actually work? Or were you just pulling my leg," I asked, looking up at him questionably.

"I thought you were going to do that ear…calming thing so I braced myself, never would've imagined you'd try to twist my freaking ear off," he said, sounding a bit gruff towards the end. Braced himself? He was expecting that?

"Were you faking being angry to figure out the ear thing?" I asked, looking at him out of the corner of my eye. He nodded nonchalantly and offered no other explanation. I huffed in annoyance at his lack of answers and decided to leave it at that. But first a test.

Reaching up quickly I twisted his ear forward causing him to sputter and curse at me, before breaking off mid-curse when I pinched on his earlobe. He hushed up, eyes drooping half-mast and stopping in his tracks.

"Heiwajima-san, I've seen you in action before, when you were like a pissed off bull. Teaching you that move would be a waste of time since you need enough patience to trigger it." I looked up at him and saw him looking down at his feet, a look that seemed like a cross between a sad puppy and crushing acceptance on his face. "But," he glanced at me, a glimmer of something akin to hope in his face, "if I see you raging out of control, I'll do my best to stop you, alright?" he nodded his head quietly, shoving his hand into his pocket and pulling out a half pack of cigarettes. Wriggling my nose in disgust, I ran a little further ahead of him to stay upwind of the smoke streaming out of his mouth.

_DRRR!_

"So that kid back there, that's your brother?" he asked, taking the smoothie straw out of his mouth long enough to ask me.

"Yeah, his name's Sora, just graduated middle school a week ago, or something to that effect," I responded through a mouthful of French fries, before swallowing the bits of fried happiness. He looked at me for a second, seeming not to understand what I had said. "What? I don't know the exact date he ended his middle school career, I just know when he ran away soon after."

"Why'd he run away?"

"Heiwajima-san, use me as a substitute for Sora. Now what do you see when you look at me?

"I dunno, a kid?

"Okay, let's skip the question and move onto the answer. What people see is red hair, a short stature, and a tomboyish personality made apparent by how I act. However, when applied to Sora, it's almost exactly the same thing, only he himself is very kind and sweet," I pointed out.

"Typically, when people see red hair, their minds go to one thought: "Delinquent." And when people know who your parents are, or what country they hail from, said people think of Sora and I as Leprechauns. If only we were so lucky," I muttered, shoving another fry into my mouth. "I actually tried to give Sora advice yesterday, but I messed up all the words my mom said."

I looked up at, wondering if my rambling was getting on his nerves or if I was boring. He displayed a calm face, silently sipping his smoothie and holding the few bags of food he had bought at the fast food place despite my protesting. As well as glancing at me occasionally out of the corner of eye.

"That way of thinking, it reminds me of that flea," he commented, looking forward again. If I looked closely, I could see a feint vein in his forehead pulsing.

"Flea…Oh! Orihara-san. I should think so, otherwise those two years online would've been a huge waste of time and minimal effort," I joked. It's not like I didn't learn anything from the phycology lessons I took, but it never really, fully answered my question.

"Hey, what's your connection to him anyway?" he asked, stopping abruptly.

"Connection? The only connection I want to have with that guy is my fist in his face. That guy almost got me run over by car!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in frustration at my near death experience. Shizuo opened his mouth but before he could say a single word, my phone started to vibrate in my pocket. Putting up a finger for him to wait, I pulled the phone free from my pocket and answered it, looking briefly at the caller I.D.

"_Maggie~, where are you? It's been forever since you left~,"_ Sora whined from the receiver.

"Cool down drama queen, it's only been about fifteen minutes, and we're almost back," I chuckled into the phone.

"_We? Who are you with?"_ he asked, losing the whiny tone in his voice.

"Heiwajima-san. You know, the guy you read about in that fluff piece."

"_It wasn't a fluff piece. It said he's the strongest guy in Ikebukuro!"_

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it," I snorted, not seeing how the skinny man beside man could possible hold such a heavy weight title. It's not like I don't believe he has some strength to him, he did break down my door twice, throw a couple of guys like they were bags of flour, and exhibit a ferocity the likes of which I had never seen, it's just that I couldn't very well imagine it.

"_Tachibana-kun, is that Tachibana-san? Give me the phone, I need to talk to her," _an indignant voice said from the background.

"Is that Kyoko-san? What's her problem?" I asked, fearing that I already knew the question.

"_The baby started crying again, and she can't stop his wailing,"_ he answered, that whiny tone of his edging his voice.

"Oh for God's sake, give the phone to Kyoko-san, Sora," I said, waiting, listening to something similar to static and hushed whispers as Sora passed her the phone. "Hello, Kyoko-san? Yeah, you're the baby's mother, right? Okay, then stop being such a prude and give him your nipple already." Shizuo sputtered next to me, and chocked on his smoothie, before putting a hand up to his mouth and coughing repeatedly.

"Will you not say that so loud?" he asked when he could finally speak.

"What, nipple? Oh come on, Heiwajima-san, we all have one. Actually we all have two, but that's irrelevant. Besides, a handsome guy like you ought to have seen enough by now," I said, my straight expression breaking into a large grin at seeing his blushing face and shy expression. Never one to miss a chance for light teasing, I muttered a quick goodbye to whoever was currently cursing me on the phone, and replaced it in my pocket. "Aww~, are you a virgin Heiwajima-san? That's so sweet, never knew you have that kind of restraint," I said, sipping on my soda straw.

"Yeah, well…you're not shy around this kind of thing, so what about you?" he asked impertinently.

"Do you want to come inside the shop? You're free to leave, but it's nice to just and eat," I said, blatantly ignoring his question when he turned the conversation on me, and from the look on his face, he knew this, too.

"Hey, don't just ignore someone when they're asking you a question," he said, clearly annoyed.

"'Course, if you leave now, you won't get my apology cake," I rambled, again ignoring what he had said.

He stopped, simultaneously shifting the bags of food to the hand holding his near empty smoothie, and grabbing my right shoulder, and forcing me to stop and look at him questionably, acting confused as to why he had stopped me so abruptly. "Didn't you hear what I said before?" he asked roughly, blue glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose.

"Ever think I heard you, but chose to ignore you?" I asked monotonously, shrugging his hand off my shoulder and continuing down the street to the pink and yellow colored shop less than twenty feet away. I heard him huff behind me, but didn't turn around to see if he had decided to follow me or not. Secretly I was hoping he was because he had the bag with Sora's food in it, and I didn't want to face that kind of drama so soon. I knew he had followed me in a sort of tense silence only after we had entered the shop and, after Sora's exaggerated response to my being late, immediately followed by tense shoulder's and a slightly bewildered expression, did I bother to turn around and look behind me.

While I couldn't say that he was angry or bitter at my lack of answers to his questions, I couldn't say that he was calm, collected and cucumber-ish. From his posture, it looked like his guard was up, and from what I could tell beyond the glasses, he was giving me a cold glare, to which, thanks to my own idea of a stupid pun, I returned with an icy stare.

"May I help you?" I asked. He said nothing besides giving me a 'Tch' sound, and went to the table behind me, depositing the bags of food on the table before taking a seat and crossing his arms in a somewhat defiant way, as if daring me to make him move from that spot.

During this time, Sora, ignoring his previous feelings of fear for the blond man sitting not ten feet away from him, in favor of his renewed feelings of hunger, reached across the table and grabbed the bags, pulling them towards him. "Maggie nee-chan, what kind of food did you get?" he asked, digging through all the bags at once.

"Let's see…this bag is Shizuo's 'cause he ordered a hamburger," I muttered, scooting the bag towards Shizuo and away from Sora and I since neither of us eat the meat of the animals we had grown up next to. "One of these is chicken and the other is tuna, but I can't remember which one," I said, unwrapping one and then the other, and finding no difference between the two besides different shades of coloration.

"Well which is which?" Sora asked, although he disliked eating any kind of bird, by this point in his starvation, I doubted he cared.

"Does it matter? Tuna tastes like chicken anyway," I said thoughtlessly, biting my tongue immediately upon seeing his horror stricken face. "Alright, alright, I'll take a bite of each and try to figure out which is which."

"But then you'll get your germs all over mine," he quipped.

"Do you want to take a chance?"

He pouted, puffing out his cheeks and looking down at the ground before giving his consent.

I nodded my head and took a bite of the sandwich in my hands, nodding my head and swallowing. "Yeah, this is chicken," I confirmed, taking another bite and sinking down into my chair next to Shizuo while Sora dug through the last remaining bag, and taking out the tuna sandwich. When he took a bite and swallowed it in obvious delight, I swallowed the bite I had chewed and said, "Ya know, this had kind of a fishy aftertaste, I think that one is my chicken sandwich, Sora."

He blanched, looking more and more green as he continued to stare at the piece of meat in front of him.

"Sora, relax, I'm kidding," I said, patting his back to try and break him out of his rigid state.

"That's not funny Maggie," he cried, his lower lip jutting out.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," I smirked, putting a hand on his head and disheveling his hair.

While Sora fussed over being teased and while I continued to laugh at his cute expressions, Shizuo, having watched us in silence for quite some time, suddenly spoke. "How come he calls you Maggie?" he asked, looking between the two of us.

"Huh? Oh! Legally I have two names since both my parents wanted to name me. So my full name is Amai Margaret Macneil Tachibana," I finished, taking another bite from my sandwich.

"Oh. So your name's Amai?" he asked point blank, making me drop my head into my free hand, and my shoulders shake in mild frustration.

"I'll be right back, I need to go take an aspirin," I said through gritted teeth, dropping what was left of my sandwich into the near empty bag and standing up from my chair. Through narrowed eyes I noticed Sora biting his lip in a poor attempt to hide his laughter at Shizuo's bluntness. I glared at him until he finally stopped, and stuck his tongue out at me. I turned away from them and went through the door that led to the kitchen since the only bathroom was located inside. I hadn't seen Kyoko-san when I walked into the shop with Shizuo, and I didn't see her now in the kitchen. I was half-tempted to ask Miss Yuumi about her disappearance, but seeing her so busy rolling out dough and baking bread, I decided against it and likened Kyoko-san's disappearance to her need to feed her child. Ducking into the bathroom I rooted around in the medicine cabinet above the sink until I found the small bottle. After downing a couple, I walked out of the bathroom, rubbing my temples in an attempt to get them to stop hurting.

"What's wrong, Amai?" Miss Yuumi asked, taking a break from kneading dough to come over and place the back of her hand against my head.

I groaned, rubbing my temples harder. "This guy I've known for a month keeps asking my name, and the one time he remembers it, I cut him off. Am I that hard to remember Miss Yuumi?" I asked, looking down at her in confusion and frustration.

"Red hair and spunky attitude? I don't think there's anybody in this town that doesn't know you," she quipped, turning away from me to attend to the rising dough.

"Then I just met a nobody, 'cause he keeps calling me kid."

"It might be a nickname."

"If it were, then he wouldn't have said, 'So your name's Amai,' a minute ago," I muttered, leaning my back against the counter she was working on and staring up at the ceiling.

"Who is this boy?" she asked.

"Heiwajima Shizuo. He's having lunch with me and Sora right now." I answered, not expecting her response to be so animated.

"Heiwajima Shizuo?! What is he doing here?!" she asked, shouting mostly, hands gripped together to her chest.

"He's having lunch," I repeated, a little worried that this might be causing her heart troubles. And let's face, Miss Yuumi's no spring chicken, and I don't want to be the cause of her death.

"How do you know him?" she asked in a much lower tone than before.

"Well, on Valentine's day he threw a deadbeat through the store window. I threw him back. And ever since then, whenever I meet him I call him a giant blonde jackass. But you were there for the introduction, so you should already know how I met him," I said, summing up what might have been ten minutes of my life in that moment, to a measly few seconds.

"I know how you met him, what I meant to ask was why do you keep meeting him?" she said, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

"Beats me if I know, he keeps showing up whether I like him or not-it! Whether I like _it _or not," I corrected quickly. _'Oh God, what's happening to me?'_ I thought to myself, pushing myself off the counter and towards the door leading back into the front room. "Oh, right I almost forgot," I said, turning back around to face her small form. "When Sora was missing, I made a bad batch of cookies and gave them to Heiwajima-san by accident, so I promised him slice of the strawberry cheesecake in front. I'll pay for it, so it's fine, right?" I asked hesitantly.

Covering the dough with a cloth and setting it aside for latter, Miss Yuumi turned her attention back to me and said, "Yes, just make sure you make another one before you leave for the day.

I nodded before turning back around, and opened the door just in time to see Shizuo light a cigarette and Sora lean away from him. My eyes narrowed into a glare as I let the door close shut behind me, and let my feet guide me to the edge of the table I had previously sat at. Crossing my arms, I leaned towards him and waited momentarily for him to look up. "Heiwajima-san, though you tend to break the rules in this shop, I might as well remind you of them. First, is no fighting. You, me, it doesn't matter who. Second, is that smoking is prohibited from this establishment. We can't let our customers come in here and smell the acidic and acrid smoke, when it's expected of a bakery to smell sweet."

"There's no sign anywhere that says I can't," he answered back, taking in another inhalation of the nicotine and ash.

"You broke the sign when you broke rule number one, aka, the window," I quipped back, unfolding my arms and levering myself on one as I leaned further onto the table and stuck my hand out in front of him. He looked at me quizzically and I sighed, "Either put it out, or give it to me."

"No," he said indignantly, wisps of the grayish smoke escaping into the air.

"Give it to me," I said, more forcefully this time.

"No," he said again, raising the cigarette high into the air away from me.

"Heiwajima-san, just give me the damn cigarette," I said through gritted teeth, climbing onto the table and kneeling as I reached for the thin white stick he held away from me.

He tilted his chair back and held it further away from me, saying one 'no' one more time in that deep voice of his.

"For Pete's sake, _stop a bheith deacair agus a thabhairt dom an toitín diabhal!_" (Stop being difficult and give me the damn cigarette!) I yelled, placing my non-injured hand against his shoulder and reaching with my right to try and grasp the cigarette from his fingers. In my attempt to rid the shop of the filth that was his cigarette, I failed to notice three things. One, and I don't know how I missed this, was how my chest was directly in his face. Two, his blushing face. And three, his complaints that if I leaned on him anymore, the chair would fall over. Just as my fingers grazed the butt of the cigarette, and when I leaned more of my weight onto him to try and get it one more time, I felt the chair beneath him start to fall backwards, causing Shizuo and I to fall with it.

When the chair fell, along with Shizuo and me, the cigarette fell from his fingertips, falling to some place on the ground away from where the chair, Shizuo and I had fallen. In the few short seconds between leaning on him and hitting the ground, I realized two things. One, I was most likely going to fall on top of him. Talk about awkward. And two, Shizuo had wrapped his free arm around my waist, probably in an attempt to keep me from injuring myself further because of my own stupid actions. What I didn't realize was that there would be a third thing. And it wasn't before or during the fall. No, this happened after the fall. What happened? Well, to anyone who asks me, "What do you think Heiwajima Shizuo tastes like?" I could answer, without a single doubt in my mind that he tastes like cigarette smoke with the sweet underlying taste of a strawberry smoothie.


	19. Chapter 19: Dog Days

**To answer saphira54325's question, as well as anyone else's, about the earlobe pinching thing. I myself do not know if it works in real life. I got the idea from an episode of Suite Life of Zach and Cody I saw that had a similar technique in one of the episodes. I may or may not have tweaked it a bit. For all I know, it may be real. So I hope that answers the question. Also, pending any future chapters…the end is a long ways off, but I have an idea for how to end it. A sequel? Let's take this chapter by chapter and allow me to figure out the plot if there was to be one. Also, death threats? Are they from you if I don't update soon? Ahh~ my fans are so scary~! Anyway, I've starved you long enough, let's continue where I left off!**

Five seconds. That's how long it took for my mind to implode, and to take account of what my senses were feeling. I could feel Shizuo's arm wrapped around my waist, clutching the fabric of my shirt in what felt like a death grip, the blush burning red hot on my face, probably leaving no trace of my hairline, and my lips still pressed to his. I could smell the nicotine on his clothes. I could taste the ash and the sweet strawberries. I could hear Sora's gasp that quickly turned into muffled laughter. That bastard. I could also hear the chiming of the bell above the shop door, and animated talking being broken off mid-sentence. And through the red veil my hair, thankfully, provided, I could see Mikado and Masaomi. Mikado looking shocked and quizzical, while Masaomi was in a mixed state of emotions that revolved around surprise, shock and suppressed laughter, courteous of Sora's infectious laughter. And when I looked at Shizuo, I saw his brown eyes, widened in shock, and saw his ears turn pink. If I was honest, as well as in any situation other than this, I would've thought it was cute. Unfortunately, I didn't have that luxury.

I detached myself from his lips, keeping my head down so that my hair covered my face. Picking my hat up from where it had fallen, I placed it over my face as I moved for of him and stood up, my back to the two teenagers who had just entered. "I'm ah…I just…I gotta…bye," I stuttered to no one in particular, walking quickly past Sora, resisting the urge to whack him upside the head when he continued to laugh hysterically, and walked into the kitchen, letting the door swing closed behind me. Miss Yuumi looked up from her work and asked me if I needed something. I didn't answer and continued past her to the bathroom. Once inside I slammed the door, looked it and pressed my back against it, sliding down until my butt hit the floor, and stretched my legs in front of me.

"Amai, is something the matter?" Miss Yuumi asked, knocking on the door several times. "Are you okay?"

"No. My face is red, my brother keeps laughing at me and I just kissed Heiwajima Shizuo," I groaned.

"What?! You were in here less than three minutes ago! How did that happen?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said, removing my hat from my face and standing up. Looking at my face in the mirror, I discovered just how red it was, and how true I was about my hair line. There was no difference between my face and my hair and the longer I looked the hotter my face burned. Having had enough, I turned the cold water and splashed it on my face to cool it down, just in time for Mikado to speak.

"Amai-san, are you okay?"

"I'm staying in the bathroom and I'm never coming out! That's how okay I am!" I snapped.

"Come on, Maggie nee-san, you can't live in the bathroom forever," Sora said, his laughter dying down.

"I can rent it."

"Let's be realistic, Sweetie," Miss Yuumi edged in. "You can't live in there forever, you have to face him some time."

"I think the problem is that she gave him her face," Sora jibbed.

"Okay, one: I gave him it by accident, and two: Is he gone yet? I'm not coming out until he's gone," I answered, turning the water off so I could hear him better.

"He Just left with a super cute expression on his face," Sora said, sounding smug and out of breathe, probably from laughing so much. Sora's definition of cute, and mine differed. What I thought was cute, example A: Shizuo's red ears, example B: Small fluffy dogs, Sora saw as super cute. And, now that I think about it, I don't think there was one thing Sora saw as just regular cute.

"Is it safe to come out?"

"I just told Kida-kun and Ryu-kun what happened," Sora answered.

"And?"

"I wouldn't if I were you." Immediately afterward I heard a door open and close, along with boisterous laughter from a certain bottle-blond high schooler.

"Amai-chan, come on out, I promise I won't laugh…" he said, before erupting into more laughter.

"It's not funny!" I shouted.

"It could have been worse Maggie," Sora said, his voice a little softer.

"Like how?! I see that guy so often it's scary. And now everything's going to be so freaking awkward," I groaned.

"Well…it still could have been worse," Sora insisted.

"Yeah, had it been reversed, he could have fell into your lady bits," Masaomi joked, not knowing or seeing the expression pain that crossed my face. I heard an audible smack and a gasp of pain.

"Don't say that type of thing to her. That's my sister you're talking about," Sora said. From what I heard, Sora most likely punched his shoulder. Lucky for him, I would have punched his face. It almost felt like Sora knew something, but that, in and of itself is impossible. Like how Izaya claims to know.

"Amai, you're free to go home if need be," Miss Yuumi said, knocking on the door again. "It's a slow day today anyway."

"Thanks, I need to talk to a certain transvestite about a job anyway." I exited the bathroom, glancing briefly at Mikado and Masaomi, the latter rubbing his shoulder, and grinning widely at me. "Tell anyone and I hurt you. Tell Orihara-san, and murder you," I threatened, looking specifically at Masaomi.

"My lips are sealed," he said, not the least bit fazed, having been used to this. Beside him Mikado nodded his head furiously, a slightly panicked look in his eyes. I grabbed Sora by his arm and pulled him along behind me, stopping beside the door and peeking out shyly in case he had lied about Shizuo leaving. The shop was, thankfully, empty.

"Nee-chan, we're going home?" Sora asked soon after we had left the shop.

"Yeah," I replied, hooking my arm around his.

"You're going to talk to Taka-kun about a job?"

"Yeah."

"I asked him about it before, he said he might have something for you."

"That's good."

"…Nee-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you're okay? You look a little sad," he said, looking at me worriedly.

"Nah, I'm just…tired, that's all."

"Is it about Heiwajima-san?"

"No," I replied, feeling a light blush on my face. So stupid. And here I thought that kind of thing only happened in sissy dramas and movies. Stupid reality. I leaned my head against Sora's as we walked. If he was a little taller, it wouldn't have been as awkward to walk, which is why I took my head off of his a few seconds later.

"Is it about _that_ thing?" he asked after a while.

"What thing?" I asked, a seed of suspicion growing in the pit of my stomach when I heard his words.

"You know…_that_ thing," he said again, glancing over at me before avoiding my eyes altogether.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, a hard edge in my voice in hopes of stopping the conversation altogether. It's not like he could know. It's not…right? I did what he said. I didn't tell anybody. Not my family, not my few friends, not even that Kanra bastard. Sora couldn't possibly know…right? But…that night was so fuzzy. Walking home in the dark. No one could have seen me. Entering the house and sobbing uncontrollably in the shower? My family sleeps as heavy as boulders. No one could have heard me.

"I know you do. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but, I know the truth Maggie. What happened that night," Sora said, so quietly I couldn't be sure I heard him right. He knows? Even when I was distraught, I know I covered my tracks.

"No you don't-,"

"Yes I do!" he said indignantly, so uncharacteristically loud that several people walking by or past us looked in our direction and began to talk amongst themselves. So many people.

"Let's talk about this at home," I whispered to him, grabbing his arm only for him to jerk it away.

"No, I want to talk about this now," he said, crossing his arm and swamping his foot like a child. I scowled, trying to think of what to do, but getting distracted by all the people who had stopped on the street to watch us.

"_Hey!_ This ain't a show people! Move along or whatever," I shouted, waving my hands around in a flapping motion. A few moved away, having been caught staring, and others scoffed at my general rudeness, as if what they were doing wasn't rude.

I looked back at Sora, speaking in a low clear voice. "If you know, then you'll understand that my problems aren't for stranger's ears to hear." He looked doubtful, biting his lip out of habit, that we would continue our conversation at home, but understood nonetheless. He nodded his head once, and grabbed my arm, wrapping his own around it and leading me quickly back to my apartment out of impatience. I have doubts as to whether or not he actually knows, or whether I'll be able to stomach such an uncomfortable topic, or if I'll be able keep my sanity intact. But if even one person knows, by this point, it shouldn't matter. Just one person knowing is enough. Or…is it? Either way, I need to know the extent of what Sora knows. I won't clarify anything. I won't add anything. And I won't say who it was eight years ago.

_DRRR!_

"You're an impatient one," I commented as Sora tapped his foot incessantly as he "waited" for me to unlock my door. He stopped tapping his foot, but started shifting his weight from one foot to the other until I opened the door. He pushed me inside, grabbing my key, closing the door and locking the deadbolt as he went.

"Only 'cause I feel like this is my only chance to help you and pay you back for all the times you've helped me," he responded, pushing me towards the couch and making me sit down.

"I doubt talking about it will make me feel better after eight years," I muttered, a sour expression on my face.

"You don't know that, it could work," Sora insisted, sitting cross-legged on top of my coffee table, looking at me with a somewhat hopeful expression, assuming that I would open up for the first time in ever.

"How do you know that?"

"Well…mom believes that talking out your problems help," he said. I looked down, biting my lip. In dealing with Sora and keeping him in my sight, I had forgotten to ask him how mom was doing. I could ask, but I doubt that he would so willingly switch the conversation. So I asked a different question.

"Why do you want to help me so much? There are other ways to pay me back you know," I said, laying my head on my hand, trying to figure what possible reason he could have for bringing up such an uncomfortable topic.

"Because my sister, who is as tough as any boy is and who doesn't let her emotions get to her easily, was crying for the first time in years that I can remember. My sister, who didn't shed a tear when she broke her leg. My sister, who didn't cry that loudly, or that long, when Whiskers was hit by a car. For what reason could my sister, who doesn't show those types of emotions easily, have for crying, wailing, in the shower for three hours, and then crying some more after she had crawled into bed," Sora said, his face turning into a mixture of determination and graveness.

The room grew silent after Sora finished. He, just staring, and me, thinking of what to say. "It was a mistake sharing a room with you when we were growing up, wasn't it."

"Be serious and tell me what happened, Maggie!"

"I don't have to tell you if you already know," I answered, crossing my arms across my chest, feeling self-conscious that he had seen and heard that much.

"I want to hear you say it."

"No."

"Please tell me why! I want to help you!"

"How?!"

"I want to help you move past it!"

"You _don't_ move past it! You live with it, because no matter what, it happened. And no amount of talking about it will make it disappear," I said, standing up abruptly.

"Well, then at the very least maybe talking about it to another person will make you feel better," he said quietly, looking up at me unfazed. To that I had nothing to say. Clenching and unclenching my hands, I sat down again, watching him carefully for any slip in his determination to learn the truth.

Finding none, I asked him, "What do you know?" his eyes softened a little and he began to speak. Recounting the back door slamming shut downstairs, hearing my footsteps in the house well after everyone else had gone to bed. Hearing small sniffles and the shower being turned on before he heard full blown wails drowned into the sound of rushing water. And remembering when I had stuffed my sopping wet uniform under my bed and had cried silently in my sleep. When he finished, I was surprised by two things. One, he had remembered all of that after being roused from sleep in the dead of night. And two, that I had cried in my sleep. I really did surprise myself sometimes. Like how I was surviving this conversation. But maybe that's because I was taking it all in strides.

"Will you please tell me now?" Sora asked after he had finished, and the room had grown silent in my musings. My hand covered my eyes as I felt a dull ache behind them, and started to remember bits and pieces of that night. Of walking home in the dark for three hours just to go home, had I been in my right mind, I might've gotten home sooner. Feeling the rocks dig into my foot on the gravel path, and equating it as next to nothing when compared to the violent turned dull ache below my belly.

"If you know what I've been through, then you'll understand if I don't want to tell you about it," I said quietly, absentmindedly.

"But…" he began, trailing off when he saw my face after I removed my hand. We sat in silence for a long time after that. Moo-Moo eventually showed herself, climbing up on the couch and rubbing her side against my arm. When she got no response from me, she jumped from the couch to the coffee table and did the same with Sora, earning a head rub before letting his hand fall away from her. I would've asked about Aki, but then again, I didn't really care about the stupid duck.

Finally Sora broke the silence. "Do you think…I mean…about a relationship…" he hesitated, not really knowing how to phrase it.

"I won't let what happened in the past affect my future. At least…I'll try not to let it screw it up."

"Then…how do…how do feel about…" he said, twiddling his thumbs nervously, another habit of his that was easily noticeable. I waited to see if he would finish his somewhat sentence, but he looked too nervous to say whatever it is that he wanted to say.

"Abouuuut?" I said, drawing out the vowel, letting him take his time to say whatever it is. When he still didn't, I snapped at him to get on with it, and regretted it when I saw him shrink into himself.

"Promise not to get mad?" he asked, glancing up at me.

"I promise not to overreact," I said. Like I'm gonna promise something like that. He looked deflated for a second, but watched my face carefully to gauge my reaction.

"How do you feel about Heiwajima-san?" he asked slowly, visibly tensing up. Building a wall to protect himself from what he assumed would by my fiery wrath at such a question. However I did something neither of us expected. I blushed. I couldn't see my face, but I could see Sora reacting positively to it, as well as the minor heat in my cheeks. First I kiss Heiwajima-san, and now I'm blushing. Something must be wrong with me today, because I can't even remember the last time I blushed like this. Maybe my time of the month is coming up and my hormones are getting jacked up. Yeah, that seems logical.

"Okay, just to make it clear. First, I think we know each other well enough to be friends now, since the acquaintance ship has sailed far…far away. Second, if even after _that_ he still can't remember my name, I'll kick his blonde bartender ass. And third, we are never to discuss that ever again. Swear if you agree."

"Dammit."

"Not that kind of swear, but whatever. Now! If you'll excuse me, I need to see another gay man next door about a possible job opportunity," I said tiredly, standing up and going to the door. "Oh, almost forgot. Here's my cell, call Colm and tell him you're with me. He's been calling me non-stop and even his girlfriend called me to try and calm him down." I tossed him my cell phone, and let the door shut behind me, leaving me alone in the hall to collect my thoughts in the short ten foot walk to Taka-chan's door. How could my brother have possibly known? Well, I now know how he knew, but how could he not tell me he knew? Well, that happened when he was eight, so he couldn't have known what exactly had happened since he was too young. It might have been fairly recent when he put two and two together.

All of a sudden, I felt weary, like I had been up 27 hours and had come down the wrong side of a caffeine high. But, now that I knew there was a possible job for me, and that my paycheck was now next to nothing after the bills were paid and my savings were dwindling down, it didn't matter how exhausted I felt at that moment.

I knocked on Taka-chan's door, only once because it immediately swung inward, to which I felt out of place and knocked several more times on the wall. "Taka-chan? It's me, Amai, I'm coming in," I called, closing the door behind me as I entered the apartment. I heard a groan from what I assumed was his bed room, and felt bad that I was disturbing his sleep. But then again, he had ignored me the last couple weeks, and I figured this was calling it even.

"Amai-chan, don't you know a girl needs her beauty sleep?" he groaned, opening the door slowly to show his unshaved face and menacing glare.

"So what do guys need?" I asked, slightly taken aback by his mannish appearance. The last time I had seen him even remotely close to looking like a man was when he forgot to shave his legs four months ago.

"Ha, ha, very funny, Amai. Now tell me why you're here before I kick you out for messing up my beauty sleep," he said, opening the door wider so he could pass through, pulling his robe tighter around his body and crossing his arms before me.

"I heard from Sora you might have a job for me?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"You couldn't have waited a few more hours until I was more rested? I have a job too you know," he remarked, flopping down onto his couch.

"Things were getting awkward between my brother and me. I had to bail on him before I started saying unnecessary things," I said, sitting beside him and resting my head.

"How so?"

"Just…uncomfortable things. Anyway, then he started asking me about Heiwajima-san."

"You met him again today?" he asked, not at all surprised.

"Yeah, it's uncanny how often I see him."

"What did Sora-san ask?"

"Promise not to say anything to anyone?"

"Ohh~ sounds juicy. Deal, now spill," he said, getting excited and moving his body to face me.

"I…may have kissed him by accident," I said slowly, preparing for the ridicule I had been receiving all day. But Taka-chan, never one to disappoint me, just smiled widely at me and cocked his head to the side.

"May have? It's either you did or you didn't honey, and judging by your face, you did."

My head reached up and touched my cheeks. Feeling a little heat coming from them. "I think I might be sick, my face has been doing this all day," I said, denying whatever Taka-chan was implying. He hummed, murmuring "right" and turning his head away from me, but I could see the hint of a smile playing on his lips. "So! Back to the job opportunity then?" I asked, trying to get back to the reason I was here.

"Right, right. It's not definite, but I _may_ have something for you. It all depends on how you do with the interview," he stated, turning back towards me to give me his full, undivided attention.

"I think I can pass the interview if I have you as a reference. You haven't steered me wrong so far there past couple years," I said, smirking.

"Of course! I'm an excellent reference! But it all boils down to one key element to get the job," he said, beaming with pride before switching mid-step, so to speak, to an all-out serious mode.

"What?"

"How well are you at mixing drinks? Like cocktails and such," he asked, which then confirmed that I would be a bartender at the club where he works.

"Moderate to above average," I answered in one breath in a blunt tone. He raised a thin eyebrow questionably. "My dad and oldest brother, while obviously straight, liked the fruity mixed drinks when I was growing up, and I'd mix it for them," I explained.

"You're more qualified than I was when I started. Okay then, I'll set up the interview," he said, clasping his hands together in a delighted gesture.

"Would I be working nights too then?"

"No, you'll be a part timer. The latest you'll be working is most likely eleven at night. And if you get the job, you'll probably be working with me most of the time," he said, standing up and clasping his hands again, raising them above his head as he stretched his back. "Now get out of my apartment, I still have three or four hours until my shift starts."

I stood up, walking to the doors and preparing to close it behind when I heard his voice again. "Tell Sora-san I said 'Hi'."

I agreed, thanking him for giving me, what felt like to me, was a golden opportunity. I shut the door and went back to my apartment, opening the door to a sleeping Sora on my couch with an equally sleepy Moo-Moo curled beneath his arm. Now that I could see her belly more closely, it became more obvious that she wasn't getting fat from over feeding on rodents. I couldn't believe I had missed it this long, being around animals so much when I was a child. But now I could see Moo-Moo is pregnant. And it was obvious Sora knew too, because his arm was at an awkward angle away from her extended belly.

I smiled at the both of them. They made an odd pair, a pregnant cat and a sleepy teenager curled up on a lumpy couch. I draped a blanket over the both of them, and looked tiredly at Sora's sleeping face. I made a decision to hit the sack early as well, and made my way over to my bedroom, casting a side-long glance at the closed bathroom door, and continuing on when I heard a fluttering of feathers inside.

Not bothering with any of my clothes, I flopped down on my futon, staring up at the ceiling and briefly reviewing the day's events in my head. Thinking for the umpteenth time about the accidental kiss I had shared with Shizuo. Thinking for the third or fourth time that, depending on his expression, it was probably his first kiss. And thinking for the first time how my lips still felt numb from the brief touch and briefer shot of electricity.


	20. Chapter 20: Karma

-Karin has entered the chat room-

Setton: Hello.

TarouTanaka: Good evening.

Kanra: Karin-chan has retuuuurned!

Karin: Hello Setton-san. Good evening Tarou-kun. Shut up Kanra.

Kanra: Aww~ Karin-chan is mean as usual!

Karin: So what else is new?

TarouTanaka: Kanra-san was telling about to tell us something he saw today.

Setton: It was about bakery girl, right? Tachibana-san?

Karin: What about her?

Kanra: I saw her kiss Heiwajima Shizuo! Uwaaaa!

Setton: Huh?!

Karin: How do you know?!

TarouTanaka: You saw too?!

Kanra: You know too Tarou-san?

TarouTanaka: Yeah, well…I mean, I was there.

Setton: Was it on purpose?

Kanra: I saw them through the window! It was so lame! She fell on top of him and they lip locked!

Karin: Hey, let's switch the subject, yeah?

TarouTanaka: Huh? How come?

Kanra: Nooooo, not yet! Still so much to talk about!

Setton: They kissed by accident, there's not much to talk about.

Karin: Uwaaa~ I feel so invisible~

TarouTanaka: We can switch topics if you want Karin-san.

Karin: Nah, it's cool. Have to meet up with some people. Gotta split for now guys.

TarouTanaka: Oh, good bye for now then.

Setton: Log on soon.

Kanra: Stay longer and play with us Karin-chan.

Karin: Can't you see I'm busy?

Kanra: Karin-chan~ don't leave!

Karin: You're as thick as manure but only half as useful.

Kanra: Ahh~ you're so insulting!

-Private chat with Kanra-

Karin: How the hell did you find out about that kiss, Orihara-san?

Kanra: Just as I said Amai-chan.

Karin: I don't want to depend on you, but I'd rather keep this under wraps.

Kanra: What will you give me in return, Amai-chan? Something good I hope.

Karin: Gotta go guys. Talk to you later.

-Karin has left the chat room-

Kanra: Ah, ah, she left.

I looked at the small screen for another minute or so before flipping my phone shut and turning my attention back to the people beside me, bringing my bat up to rest on my shoulder. "Maggie, I changed my mind, I don't want to do this anymore," Sora said, looking at the glove in his hand unpleasantly.

"Well too bad, we're going to do this all day if we have to," I said, not sparing him a glance.

"But why?"

"Because you almost caused mom to have a heart attack when she found out you ran away. Because mom is dying and dad is about to lose his one true love. And because if this is the one thing that will make him happy in the up-coming months, then we will damn well do it no matter how much you complain. And because most of all, this is my revenge for you butchering my hair," I responded, not skipping a beat.

"I told you I couldn't cut hair!"

"I admit that it's my fault for believing in a stereotypical myth, but that doesn't excuse you for cutting it so short!"

"You said short enough to hide, so I cut it short enough to hide," he muttered, looking down dejectedly at his shoes. I sighed through my nose before reaching up to pat his head.

It had been less than a week since my…kiss…with Shizuo, and so far he hadn't bothered to show his face. While I was thankful, I was also pissed as hell. Before I could delve into it for the third time that week, we found Colm and Kichiro tossing a baseball back and forth between each other, as well as a girl, woman to be more exact, sitting nearby under a tree, watching the two of them.

"Ah, Amai imouto-san, what took you so long?" Kichiro said, spreading his arms out in a frustrated gesture.

"We were attempting to play tennis and basketball earlier, but Sora got hit in the head with the ball."

"Tennis ball or basketball?"

"Unfortunately both, I had to get my head checked out at the hospital before coming here," Sora said as we came closer.

"Are you okay? You're head's not hurt badly, right?" Colm fussed, taking Sora's head between his hands and turning it repeatedly looking for bumps or bruises.

"If he's walking, he should be fine, right?" asked a light voice from behind him. I looked around Colm's shoulder and saw the woman from before. She was tall, well…taller than I am, with shoulder length, dark brown hair and hazel eyes that seemed to glitter, either from the sun or from looking at Colm. Even an idiot could tell that they liked each other very much, if I was honest, I'd say they love each other, but if I said that out loud, I'd probably cause Colm to have heart palpitations, he'd be so embarrassed.

"Ah, um, this is my girlfriend, Nanako-chan. She wanted to meet some of my siblings, so I brought her along to play with us," Colm said timidly, looking shyly at Nanako.

"It's nice to meet you again, this time in daylight and not in the confusing darkness of a theater complex I'm sure," I said, smiling pleasantly at her, shaking her hand.

"Right, I'm sorry about that, again, by the way, I didn't recognize you from the picture Colm-kun showed me. I didn't mean to mistake you as a boy," she said sheepishly, shaking my hand enthusiastically.

"No, it's fine. I've been called worse, unfortunately," I said, not bothering to delve into the details. I could understand her confusion though. It had been busy in the last few days, what with going to my interview, begging on my knees to the manager of the club, having to cut my hair short and wear a wig because of my bad reputation, and making the mistake of letting Sora near a pair of scissors. With my hair barely passed my ears, I looked like a tomboy more than ever now. All in all it was humiliating, but that's what I get for being too cheap to go to a hair salon. So yeah, I wasn't just pissed about Shizuo. Small talk continued, mainly introductions along with snide comments from me to my brothers and helpful hints to Nanako on dealing with Colm in different situations. It was more than an hour before we started the game, and less than ten minutes into the game when I got a little distracted by a quick test message from work.

"Come on, Amai! Eyes up, back bent, and _head in the game!_" It's so weird how intense Colm gets about sports when he's a wimp towards everything else. I turned my phone off, seeing as how it was unimportant anyway and also that it was my day off at the bakery.

"Is Colm-kun always like this in baseball?" Nanako asked, shifting her feet nervously at the sight of her slightly pissed-off boyfriend.

"Only in competitive sports. You okay in left field Nanako-san?" I yelled back, not sure if she could hear me.

"Can I switch with Sora-kun, Amai-chan? I can't throw very well," she yelled back.

"No can do Nanako-chan, Sora can't hit the broad side of a barn three feet away," Kichiro answered from center field. One against four with two below-average throwers, and a hot head up to bat. '_I'm gonna take these suckers down,' _I thought, despite this being just for fun. I got into position and swinging my bat experimentally.

"This one is going to you Sora, all you have to do is catch it," I yelled to him. He nodded, shifting nervously way out in right field, "Colm! Throw a curve ball."

"One easy out, coming _up!"_ he said, throwing the ball at me. I hit it, sending it flying out to Sora. In Patrick's letter, he said that dad wanted me to teach Sora baseball. Translation: teach him at least one sport he doesn't suck at. All in all, dad was…okay would be the best word, with the gay thing, and although he was okay with it, it didn't mean it didn't make him uncomfortable. I think in his mind if Sora was good at least one sport, he'd be happy. Too bad Sora sucks at everything we've tried so far. He can't swing, he can't catch, which is made apparent when the ball falls just to the left of his outstretched mitt, and he can't throw. All of which rules out every sport we three, Colm, Kichiro, and I, can think of, and makes this task utterly hopeless.

"Okay people, let's try one once more before switching," I yell, hitting the bottom of my shoes with the bat. Sora threw the ball to Colm, which actually turned into a bounce and roll, before Colm walked over and picked it up.

While Colm was getting the ball, I let my mind wander. Stupid bartender. What's really pathetic is that I keep imagining how that awkward conversation would go if he actually showed up. I could see him now, blonde hair, blue glasses, tall and brooding…wait, I _can_ see him. Why the hell is he leaning on the fence? Is he _watching _us? He has the nerve to show his face in broad daylight, but not _once _in the bakery?! That bas-

Before I could finish my thought, the ball hit me square in the shoulder. _"Son of a bitch!" _I yelled, dropping the bat as I fell onto my butt, clutching my shoulder. While it hurt like hell, I didn't think it did any damage.

"I-I'm so sorry Amai! I th-thought you were ready f-for the ball," Colm apologized, reverting back to his timid disposition.

"You okay there?" Kichiro yelled, pursing his lips to hold back a laugh. I grimaced, picking up the ball, and then noticed Shizuo place a hand over his mouth. Was he _laughing?_ Did he think that was _funny?!_ I threw the ball back to Colm and picked up the bat, telling Colm to throw a fast ball. Colm immediately focused back on the game, and got back into position.

"I'm gonna knock it outta the park," I said as Colm threw the ball, "_Straight at your head! Shizuo!" _I put all my angry, irritation and frustration into my swing, and hit the ball with a resounding crack. It soared straight over Colm's head and further until it went past Shizuo as he ducked out of the way.

"_Hey! What the hell?!"_ he yelled, glaring at me and gripping the chain link fence tightly.

"Don't you 'What the hell' me! I should 'What the hell' you! Where have you been all week! What? Are you too chicken to show your god damn face after something that embarrassing? At least I had the guts to mentally prepare myself for that awkward conversation!" I ranted, stomping all the way over to him, metal bat still clenched tightly in my right hand. Three days ago Kishitani-san had given me the okay to take off my hand brace, it hurt a little, but otherwise it was A-okay. I stood across from him, less than three feet from the fence, while the people behind me moved closer to see and hear what was going on.

Shizuo simmered down a bit, showing an emotion that looked like a cross between annoyance and confusion before opening his mouth to speak. "Who are you again? Sora?" he asked, squinting at me like he couldn't see me. I froze, feeling something inside of me snap.

"You remember my brother's name…after meeting him for less than an hour?" I hissed, feeling my face grow hot with anger, and my teeth grind together in displeasure. I felt two pairs of arms wrap around me, locking me in place. One pair locked around my waist, another pair locked around my arms.

"How dare you, you fucking bastard! I've known you for a month and you can't even remember my fucking_ name_?!" I yelled, struggling in Colm's and Kichiro's grip, briefly forgetting the bat in my hand.

"It's not even a name, how am I supposed to remember it?" Shizuo retorted back, both hands on the fence now, gripping the metal tightly. I stopped struggling and stared at him, mouth gaping open in shock.

"Oh shit, dude, you should _not_ have said that," Colm said, tightening his grip on my waist. Of the three obvious things people constantly made fun of, my name being an adjective was one of them. That was when I blacked out, and lost sight of what my body was doing. When my eyes finally caught up to what was happening, they widened in surprise. Colm stood behind me, his hand over his nose while it dribbled blood. Kichiro had let go of my arms and had wrapped one of his around my waist, his free hand clenched around my right wrist. He was equally as frozen as I was, looking a little up at the man in front of us. I looked at Shizuo next, and tried to surmise what had happened in what seemed like a few seconds. He stood behind the fence, his right arm dangling next to his side, hand clenched into a fist. His left hand was raised, gripping the bat hard in his grasp, hard enough to bend it in half and leave an imprint of the inside of his fist when he let go of it. His eyes were wide and angry as he looked at me, his blue glasses having slipped off of his nose and landed onto the grass.

"_If you have a problem with me then why don't you just say it!"_ he yelled, yanking the bat free from my slack grasp and throwing it far from the field we stood in. Judging by its misshapen form, there'd be no point in trying to repair it, especially since it now resembled a boomerang.

"Yeah. Yeah, I got a _huge_ problem with you! I'm short, you're tall. Your hair's dyed, mine is naturally weird. My name is a _fucking_ adjective. And _every time_ I see you near me, you break everything! So why don't you get the hell out of my life and leave me the _fuck_ alone!" I yelled, letting out all my frustration on him. Letting every hurt feeling and every piece of anger I felt towards the people who had made fun of me, and throwing it all at him. Although it made me feel a little better to get most of it off of my chest, the way he reacted to what I said it made me feel worse. I may as well have slapped him as hard as possible, judging by how he physically recoiled away from me. His eyes lost the hard flint of anger held in them, replaced instead by something else equally as hard and jagged. I thought he would flip out again, dealing the fence, or me, damage, yet he did something totally unexpected. He stepped away from me, and walked away. His hands digging deep into his pockets, pulling out a near-empty pack of cigarettes, looking at them for a moment before shoving them back inside. He let out a frustrated noise, quickly walking away from the field. This reaction was out of character for him, not that I was an expert, knowing him for about a month, but all in all, his reaction made it feel like I had struck a chord. And judging by the fact that he hadn't wailed on any of us, what I had said had struck a very deep chord.

I was struck out of my reverie when Colm asked me if I was okay. I looked at him like he was friggin' nuts, and asked him the same. "You just elbowed it a little; I don't think it's broken. Hurts though," he said, attempting to laugh it off, but wincing.

"Tilt your head back, not forward. That's what this guy did in a movie I saw when a monster bit his nose off," Nanako said, failing epically at trying to help him by referencing something that turned Colm's face green. He sat down under the pretense of slight blood loss, but Kichiro, Sora and I knew better.

"Kichiro, you can let go now, I'm fine." He looked at me skeptically before hesitantly unwinding his arms, and walking away to berate Colm for getting sick so easily. I silently wondered to myself if I was the only one who was bothered by what had just happened, but when I looked at Sora, I knew that wasn't true.

"Hey, guys, I got work in couple hours, so Sora and I are gonna go. It was nice meeting you again Nanako-san," I said, waving behind me and pulling Sora along, abandoning my bat.

"You don't have to say anything, I know what I said was wrong," I said, sensing Sora's eyes on me as we walked away.

"I didn't say anything," he said, yanking his arm free before wrapping it around mine. "But you said a lot of something's."

"I went too far, didn't I." It wasn't a question.

"I don't know him like you do, so probably. Maybe…if you see him again, you can apologize."

"Yeah, I know," I said quietly as we walked home. "Do you have your bag packed?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah."

"Is Aki-chan ready to be moved?"

"He should be. I have his leash all set."

"Okay, you'll stay at my place one more night, and tomorrow, Kichiro will come over and pick you up. All you have to do is board the train and the boat with him," I said, going over the same speech for the eighth time.

"Can't I stay one more night with you? Do I have to go back so soon?" he asked, looking at me with worry in his eyes. I already knew what he was thinking. Would high school be the same as middle school? Will it get worse? Both answers of course were yes, and while he was firmly against going to school with the same people he had in middle school, I gave him a promise.

"Give me a call whenever there's somebody picking you. I _promise_ that I will come up to your school, tie them up, and 'explain' to them why they should leave you alone. Actually, I'm coming up next month, so you can just point them out for me," I said, only partially joking.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"It will be when I'm through with them," I answered, making him snicker in response before leaning his head down on my shoulder. I hugged him close while we trudged up the old stairs to the top floor, our footsteps creaking on the old wood as we walked down the hallway.

"Can I come with you this time? As my last night here?" he asked, jutting out his lower lip and looking at me with sad, dewy eyes.

"No, and for two reasons, A) I don't want you going to a gay nightclub where there's bumping and grinding and sweating and drinking, and where you could become some sick perverts boy toy, and B) I need you to be well rested for your long day of traveling, and possible ass-kicking via Carney and Hiro-chan tomorrow," I told him, unlocking the door and letting him step through before me. He pouted but otherwise didn't argue, choosing instead to take the small box of kittens and their mother into my bedroom. In a way it was almost ironic that the day after the day I finally figure out my cat is pregnant with a stray cat's kittens, is the same day that she gives birth on my couch. It actually makes me glad that my bedroom door was closed while I was gone. Although now my couch was totally wrecked, and I now had three more cats in my life.

"I'll be back around midnight. Food's in the cupboard, drinks are in the fridge. If it has a hole in the packaging, throw it out the window. Keep the door locked and don't go outside." Was I being overprotecting? Yes, yes I was. Was I going overboard? This wouldn't be the first time I had gone overboard today. Sora said nothing from behind my bedroom door. The only thing I heard was tiny kitten meows. I sighed through my nose, closing the door behind me and pushing lightly on Taka-chan's door. It swung open easily, allowing me to enter his apartment. I could hear a blow drier through one of the two doors, and figuring it alright, I walked into his bedroom, opening his closet door, and digging around inside until I found my uniform.

"Taka-chan! I'm inside your bedroom, so don't freak out!" I shouted, pulling free a pair of black slacks and a white collared dress shirt. I heard a dull thump followed by a brief curse. _'Guess I surprised him,'_ I thought, laughing to myself quietly as I looked around the floor of the closet for my stripper shoes-I mean high heels, and pushing around the various shiny pieces of clothing until I found the black, corset-style vest and the short blonde wig. A few days ago I asked Taka-chan what the point was for showing off my breasts in such a way, and he answered, like it was so simple to understand, "Our patrons aren't limited to males, females are welcome too, whether they be gay, straight, or bi. So suck it up and put it on." While rude, it was also true.

I started dressing, pulling off the t-shirt and jeans I had worn that day and slipping on the slacks, and buttoning up the shirt. I folded up my clothes, and left them in a pile inside the closet before exiting the bedroom, high heels in one hand, and the corset in the other. Taka-chan stood in the middle of the apartment, hair crimped and fluffed, make-up lightly done, and dark green top undone at the collar.

"Remind me again why I have to keep your uniform in my closet," he asked, tugging the vest over my head and turning me around to secure it around my waist.

"Because until he leaves tomorrow, I don't want him to-ow! See what I'm doing fo-ow! A second job," I said as he tied the strings together. I smoothed out the wrinkles that had accumulated on my shirt and, with extreme resentment, placed the blonde wig atop my head. It was shoulder-length, platinum blond, turned various colors in the lights of the club/bar, and the only reasons I had for wearing the stupid thing, was because of my infamy and the owner thought, and I quote, "I've always wondered how light colored hair would look on a tomboy like you, and wouldn't you know, you look downright sexy in your uniform too! Sure to bring in more girls as long as you act cute too."

So far I had been hit on by seventeen women, kissed on the cheek and had my butt touched by three cougars, and talked to a man for seven inconsecutive hours who was vying for Taka-chan's attention but couldn't get close enough to talk to him. Until the cougar incident, I was feeling very flattered by the women who flirted with me, but I think that was only because it'd been a long time since a man had taken so much as an interest in me. Not including the constant flirting from Masaomi, and the kiss between me and Shizuo.

'_Shit, why am I blushing again? SHIT! Why can't I get him out of my head?!_' I thought as we left the apartment and walked down stairs. When we got downstairs, we crossed the street and Taka-chan unlocked his car. He sat down in the driver's seat and slid in beside him, shutting the door behind me. It was an older car, that's for sure, but otherwise Taka-chan assured me that it was reliable. What would have taken me forty-five minutes to walk, took ten minutes to drive as we neared the back entrance of the club, parking in the small lot and entering the bright, colorful establishment. The place is popular; I could tell that much by the line I saw around the edge of the building as we entered, and by the amount of people I could see through the 'employee only' door that were inside moving and grinding to the pulsating music echoing off every surface in the dark and colorful room.

The next time I saw the pulsating lights, I was beside Taka-chan, known here by Minori-chan, serving various drinks that ranged from Scotch and sodas to Piña Coladas, from Martinis to Screwdrivers, and from Gin and tonic to Shirley Temples. I made more drinks here than I did on the lazy Sunday afternoons when dad swore off hard liquor on Sundays. After a few hours, I went on break, walking back through the 'employee only' door and sitting down on a crate of lemons and limes. Five minutes later, Minori-chan came in trying unsuccessfully to wipe a smile off his face.

He came and sat beside me, leaning back and sighing wistfully. "Karin-chan, why so down? Did those cougar bitches hit on you again? Don't take it to heart, they like any young, cute thing like you," he said, patting my knee comfortingly, smiling at me reassuringly. I looked at him a little with what I hoped was a 'help me with this problem I'm having' look. He seemed to get the message, and turned his body towards to me, sending me his own look of 'tell me everything'.

"I saw Heiwajima-san today, and…I kind of went over board when I was talking to him. And I think I really hurt his feeling, and I don't know what to do about it. What should I do?" I asked him, twiddling my thumbs and looking down at my shoes. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and saw him looking at the ceiling in a somewhat thoughtful gesture.

He looked at it for another minute, everything silent between us, besides the thumping music of course. He finally spoke, saying almost exactly what I thought he would say.

"I think you should find him and apologize. Lay everything out in the open and tell each other why you feel the way you do."

"That sounds great and all, really touchy-feely and all, but there's one flaw to your great plan. How do I find him? I kind of told him to, 'Get the hell out of my life and leave me the fuck alone'."

He looked exasperated and looked to the ceiling once again, this time for either help or strength. "Okay, I know you don't really believe in the universe or karma or anything like that, but I think if you ask for divine retribution, the universe will bring Heiwajima-san to you."

He's right. I don't believe it. But I guess it's worth a shot.

"Okay, divine retribution it is. Come on universe! Give me my dues! Give me all the karma I deserve! Throw it all at me in one fell swoop! And then throw Heiwajima-san my way! Come on!" I shouted, standing up as I did so. After I was done shouting, I heard laughter coming from beside me and turned to see Minori-chan holding a hand over his mouth as he laughed hysterically before falling off of the crate.

"I can't believe you fell for that shit! I just made that up as I went along!" he laughed, rolling onto his side. Resisting the urge to pound him into a pile of tranny dust, I pinched my ear, cooling myself down enough to plaster a smile on my face and walked back into the main room and serve more drinks, not hearing the roll of thunder that sounded outside.

_DRRR!_

As stupid as the whole, believe in the universe thing, was, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Or rather, I couldn't stop thinking about what kind of karma it would throw at me. So far the worst thing that had happened tonight was the cougar bitch came back and pinched my cheeks, unfortunately, it was not the cheeks of my face. I'm not scared of leery, pervy women, that genre is exclusively men, however I think I could make an exception for this one.

The second worse thing to happen tonight would be that since Minori-chan worked until three in the morning, and I got off at eleven at night, I had the good fortune of walking through the rain, without an umbrella, lucky me, while it was pouring cats and dogs.

'_Speaking of which, I wonder how the apartment is holding up. It tends to drip when there's a storm this big. I wonder if Sora knows where the pots are to catch the rain water.'_ I thought as I trudged up the steps of the building. I bypassed Minori (Taka-chan's) apartment and headed over to mine instead. Sure it would be the perfect revenge to drip water all over his carpet, but I'm not that mean, besides which, he stuck his neck out to get me that bartending job.

I took the stripper shoes off and dug through the pockets on my slacks and stuck the key into the lock. That's when everything went right to hell. As I opened the door, an inch of water flooded out into the hallway, drenching my feet and falling down the steps of the stairs. Fearing the worst I looked inside. What I thought I would find was not there. An over flooded bathtub? Nope. The sinks in both the kitchen and bathroom broken and running? Nada. Various small holes in my ceiling leaking water? I was actually pretty close on that last one. It just turned out that it was one giant hole in the middle that was letting in everything the storm outside had to offer.

Wet plaster and rotten wood littered the ground, and covered my couch. A surprised and flustered Sora waded through the remaining inch or so of water that was left on the ground, filing and refilling buckets of water and throwing them through the open window, from atop the counter, under minimal protection of the cupboards and what looked like a slightly damp blanket, Moo-Moo and her kittens cried sole fully. Sora finally noticed me, recognizing me immediately despite the wet blonde wig and the bartender uniform I wore.

"Maggie nee-san, the ceiling! It-it collapsed! An-and then all this rain fell in! And-and…why are you smiling?"

Yeah, I was smiling. And then that smile grew into a full blown grin as I looked again to the huge hole in my ceiling. I must have been mad. I must have been so insane as I dropped everything I was carrying into the water around my feet, and started laughing my ass off. But after all, I did ask the universe to throw everything I deserved at me, and I guess this was the kind of karma that it came up with. But I also figured that if something this bad was bound to happen, then something equally as good was bound to happen, too.


	21. Chapter 21: Stars

**Since I just can't decide what the second genre will be, I will let you, my valued readers, decide via poll on the profile page. Only genres that remotely fit in with the story be available for voting. I will have it up for one week, and depending on your votes, change the second genre with the next chapter update. Please note that the first genre will be forever romance. Annnd story start~**

"Sheesh, informants must make good money. This place is freaking nice!" I said, looking around in slight awe at the space around me. Bastard even had a second floor.

"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment. Especially when compared to that rundown, rat-infested, hole-in-the-wall you call an apartment," he said smoothly from his desk, taking a small reprieve from whatever he was typing to give me his full attention as I entered what felt more like an office than a really nice apartment. The woman who had let me in quickly exited without neither making a sound nor speaking a word to me, in introduction or otherwise.

I looked at him in annoyance. "Okay, first of all…the hole is in my ceiling, and second of all…shut up," was my brilliant response. He simply smirked and gestured for me to take a seat on the black couch beside me. As I sat down the woman with long hair and a sullen expression came back in, set a cup of tea in front of me, glowered at me, and left. I didn't drink the tea, after the look she gave me I wouldn't doubt it if she spit in it. And also, for all I knew about this suspicious guy, it could have some kind of poison in it.

'_Or maybe one of those date rape drugs. I feel like that threat of his still hangs over my head. Seeing as how he's an informant, as well as a questionable guy, I wouldn't doubt it if he had some human trafficking team under his thumb,'_ I thought, picking up the cup when he turned his attention back to the computer monitor and taking a quick whiff of it. It smelled nice, but that didn't mean I would be drinking it anytime soon.

"It's not poisoned if that's what you're thinking," he said suddenly, making me almost spill the liquid in surprise.

"Can never be so sure with a suspicious guy like you," I muttered so low I was sure he wouldn't be able to hear me. I was wrong of course, but, whatever.

"I could say the same thing about you. A young woman living on the edge of the red light district, working a second job at that club down on thirty-second, with bright colored hair and a tomboyish personality just screams 'delinquent'," he finished with a smirk in my direction, pushing away from the keyboard and spinning his chair towards me, folding his hands neatly under his chin, looking ready to get down to the reason I had come seeking his 'guidance'.

"I didn't come here to be insulted, I came here for some information," I responded with a light glare.

"And I didn't give you my address just so you could sit there and twiddle your thumbs," he countered, standing up from the chair to walk around his desk space and lean against the desk.

I set my jaw, "Straight to business then, I need information."

"Obviously, or else you wouldn't be here, but my information doesn't come free."

"How much?"

"Depends."

'_Shit, I knew it wouldn't be cheap, but I at least thought it would be fixed,' _I thought, looking at him with a displeased expression. My face must have been freakin' funny to him because he laughed a little when he looked at me.

"I need the name and number of a good loan company that won't screw me over," I stated, putting on a stubborn expression.

He brought a hand up to his face, rubbing his chin in thought. "Not many loan companies have a reputation for not screwing their clients over. Why not try robbing a bank?" he asked in a slight business tone. At least he had the decency to at least give me a little seriousness.

"I doubt I could rob a bank successfully without anyone picking me out of a line-up. Besides, loan companies give their clients money, no questions asked, right? You just have to pay it back with interest." Naïve? Yes, too bad I couldn't afford common sense.

He gave me that same smirk that told me he was going to eat me, and felt myself beginning to get pissed off.

"If you can't do it, I understand, not like I expected much coming here anyway," I said, standing up to go, but pausing when he raised a hand, motioning for me to stay and sit. I complied while he walked back to his chair, scooting in close to the keyboard and the monitor. He typed away, his smirk turning into a large grin. Somehow I had a bad feeling about this whole idea. It wasn't more than a few minutes before he took out a pen and began scribbling on a small piece of paper, and motioned for me stand up and come forward. Suspicious and curious, I complied, and stood a few feet from him, reaching for the card he had written whatever on before he pulled it away from my reaching fingers.

I looked at him questionably until he explained. "The price for this information is eight thousand yen, but because you're so intriguing and pitiful, I'll half the price," he said, smirking at my fuming expression.

"Eight thousand?! Even for looking up the name and number of a business, isn't that price a little steep?"

"You wanted the name and number of a loan company that wouldn't cheat you. Even without my help that info is hard to find."

"So glad I'm a source of entertainment for you, and that you pity me," I said, half-sarcastically and half-grateful, handing over the entire contents of my wallet, minus bus fare, and swiping the card from his hand. I turned, not bothering to look as he scooped up the money from the table.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Amai-chan," he called so pleasantly it almost frightened me.

"Bite me," I called back over my shoulder.

"If I do, will you yell for me, Amai-chan? Like you did for him?" he said quietly, an all knowing tone edging his voice. I turned back surprised and, honestly…afraid. I was afraid of him knowing, of anyone knowing. How did he know? Then I started to put the pieces together.

"How many screen names do you have?" I asked, so quietly I wasn't sure he even heard me. Yet I knew he did when he smirked at me once more, and suddenly, I felt like a lamb caught in his wolf gaze.

"Better be going now Amai-chan. Wouldn't want a young woman like you walking around alone after dark." The sentence, while seemingly harmless, sent a spike of fear through me. Walking alone in the dark, that was just the aftermath. The night itself didn't matter. The fact that he knew about it, however, did. I backed away carefully, trying my best not to show my fear, my cautiousness. Unfortunately, none of that mattered, he could see right through me, and he knew it.

_DRRR!_

'"_A promise is worth its weight in gold" that's a nice phrase, but does it apply to me or them?'_ I thought, looking around the small office space. I thought about asking the man earlier, but decided against it. Needless to say I was nervous. Before he left, the large, tanned man had asked for a figure, and I couldn't for the life of me remember how much I needed, so he left me to figure it out, and went to make a phone call to one of his employees.

'_I lost my security deposit, and there's no way slum lord-sama will let me take that out of the cost. So let's see, the price of the ceiling plus the rent for this month plus whatever outrageous expenditure he claims, and that equals a whole lotta cash. So…what the hell would that be?'_ I looked around his desk, picked up a blank sheet of paper, found a pen and started adding estimates. When I figured out the number, I came to one conclusion. This whole endeavor would take me forever to pay off. '_Stupid, cheap-looking apartment.'_

Boss man eventually came back and I showed him the number I needed. By what little emotion I could see on his tanned, round face, I could tell my number to him was a pittance. Whatever, three hundred thousand yen was a lot to me, so I guess the people who came here for a loan borrowed a lot more. He gave me the money and gave me the business card of the person who would be coming to collect sometime next week. I left there with a smile on my face and wallet full of cash. I stopped at the bus stop, deciding not to waste any time in getting back to the apartment building. Remembering my present circumstance however made the smile disappear from my face.

'_Having to use all my free time to go back and forth from Shinjuku and meet with the boss of a debt collection agency just because karma decided to be a bitch and bring the house down. What a load of crap.' _The bus rolled to a stop and, taking out the money I had set aside in my pocket, paid my fare. Once I took my seat, I closed my eyes and rested my head back, suddenly feeling tired.

When the bus next stopped, I opened my eyes and stood up, walking wobbly towards the doors. I checked to make sure no one took the money from my pockets, and when saw that it was all there, I walked up the steps of the decrepit building, stopping at the second level to pay the land lord/slum lord/ supervisor. Bastard had the nerve to wave cheekily at me as I walked away from roughly three hundred thousand yen, and walked upstairs to Taka-chan's apartment.

In the two days since the roof caved in, Sora had gone home with Kichiro and Aki, I had had two screaming matches with the land lord, been kicked out of the apartment building, and been threatened with a law suit for damaging property and not alerting the supervisor to unsafe living standards. I called bull shit on the last one and had to consult Colm on being unjustly kicked out without a notice, but according to him I didn't have a case against him because my lease was a verbal agreement, no paper work whatsoever. Apparently a verbal agreement didn't count for anything according to slum lord-sama. As I result I had been sneaking inside the building behind his back, to sleep on Taka-chan's couch. He truly is my one friend in the crazy town; he'd be my best friend if he weren't making me shell out a few thousand yen a night until I found another apartment.

_DRRR!_

'_I feel tired. Almost eleven in the morning and I still feel tired from last night. Maybe handing over three hundred thousand yen killed me more than I let on,'_ I thought, handing back change and closing the cash register before putting another tired smile on my face. _'Yeah, that has to be it, there's no other reason for why I'm this tired,'_ I thought, handing back more change to the last person in line. After they left, I rested my head on my hands and closed my eyes for a millisecond before I heard incessant knocking on a window. I looked up, a little annoyed at whoever dared to disturb my rest. It escalated to mild annoyance when I saw Orihara-san smiling at the large window, both hands against the glass. He lifted one and beckoned for me to come outside. I shook my head 'no' and he simply grinned, knocking on the glass again. I glared before leaving my post behind the glass counter, giving into his blind request. However, when I opened the door and stepped outside, he was running down the street away from me, and when I looked behind me I saw a flash of black and white and a large grouping of colorful stars as my head hit the pavement.

_DRRR!_

"Hey, thanks again for taking me to Kishitani-san."

"It's my fault for running into you, what else could I have done?" He was quiet for a minute, then asked, "How's your head, and, um, ankle?"

"My head's not bad; I only bumped it a little. Also, the least you could have done was let me use you as a walking stick. Giving me a piggy-back ride to Doctor-san is a little much," I said, repositioning myself on his back and getting a better grip around his neck.

"Why were you there anyway? You could have gotten hurt worse than this," he said, his grip tightening unconsciously around my calves. "You told me to stay out of your life, so why are you steeping in front of me when I'm trying to kill Izaya."

"It was more so that Orihara-san made me step in front of you, and…about what happened a few days ago…I'm sorry I blew up at you. I kinda have some issues that you sorta brought up."

"You mean your appearance?" he asked, turning his head a little to look at me.

"Name too. I can pretty much handle people insulting my appearance, but I refuse to have anyone insult the precious name my mother gave me. Which is why I blacked out and attacked you unconsciously. Sorry about that by the by. You can call me 'kid' all you want, as long as you don't forget my name, okay? I'll start calling you by your name, too." We were quiet again; he turned his head back forward.

"Hey, I really am sorry; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You didn't deserve any of that. So…don't avoid me when the going gets tough…or really embarrassing."

"I won't call you 'kid' anymore," he said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I won't call you 'kid'. You're not that short you know," he said, looking back at me again. Was this the first time I've seen him so serious?

"Pfft, sure. You're really tall, so everyone around you is short," I laughed.

"That's not the point! And you're hair's not weird or any of that shit."

"Sure, coming from someone who dyes his. Do you see anyone else around here with red hair?" I asked, wondering why he was being like this all of a sudden.

"What about that kid? And those twin guys. Their hair is red, too, isn't it?"

"First off, Kichiro and Colm's hair is auburn, not to mention that all three of them are my brothers. And secondly, why are you being so adamant about what I said? I didn't mean any of it you know. I'm weird, so what?" I said, scooting up further on his back to look at his face better.

"Your hair, your height, none of that is weird, so don't put yourself down like that."

"This coming from the man who despises his supposed strength. Yeah, that's right, I noticed. You can't hide that kicked puppy look from me when I lose my shit and flip out. And anyway, for someone who is supposed to be "the strongest man in Ikebukuro", under that bad ass, tough guy exterior, you're just a big 'ol softie, aren't ya." He looked away, somewhat embarrassed by how his ears turned a little pink. I smirked and rested my chin on his shoulder, waiting for him to say something.

He didn't say anything as we entered the building and walked into the elevator. "Hey." I said, trying to elicit a response. He didn't reply, continuing to stare forward at the elevator doors as they lifted us up. "Hey, don't ignore me or I'll bite you," I said, trying again to get him to talk. Again he didn't reply, choosing instead to ignore my threat and walk out into the hallway as the doors opened, and knocked on the door I had been to a hand full of times. "Are you mad I called you a softie?" He continued to be silent. "Fine, you wanna be a tough guy, I'll treat you like a tough guy."

Shinra opened the door then looking pleasantly shocked. "Amai-chan, how nice it is to see you again! So tell me, why is Shizuo carrying you?" he asked.

"Shizuo-san broke my ankle and now I can't walk," I said bluntly, holding out my slightly injured foot as evidence.

"Don't exaggerate! I didn't break anything!" Shizuo protested, looking back at me crossly.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Shizuo-san ran into me in his careless pursuit of Orihara-san and injured my ankle," I said, again bluntly. "That sound better Shizuo-san?" He scowled at me and pushed past Shinra into the apartment, dumping me on the clean white couch inside. "No, that's okay, no need to treat me gentle or anything," I said sarcastically, sitting up straight on the couch while he walked straight to the outside balcony and shut the door, pulling out his pack of cigarettes and putting his back to me. From somewhere inside the apartment, I could hear a shower running.

"Where's Celty?"

"She's taking a quick shower before heading out, maybe you can stay awhile and talk to her."

"Sure. I wanna ask her some stuff on mythology anyway."

"So! Which ankle is it?" Shinra asked, sitting down across from me on the coffee table, smiling in that harmless way of his. For some reason though, it made me want to punch him.

"Left," I answered, picking up my left leg and setting it in his waiting hands. He gingerly took off my shoe and began his prodding and examination. While he was doing that, I glanced over at Shizuo and caught him looking at me before quickly turning back around. I raised a brow at his reaction, and shrugged to myself as Shinra placed my foot back on the ground, got up and left to get his medical kit. "So how's my ankle?" I asked when he returned.

"The good news is it's not broken," he said, setting the small box down beside him and picking out a roll of gauze.

"What's the bad news?" I asked as he wrapped my foot.

"It's only slightly sprained. Try not to put too much weight on it."

"How slightly?"

"It should be better in…um…" he said, trailing off before muttering something else.

"What?"

"Okay, don't get mad at Shizuo. He didn't mean to hurt your ankle." Okay, now I was suspicious.

"Okay, I promise. Now when should it be better?"

"…Three weeks."

"THREE WEEKS! Is my ankle frickin' broken?!"

"Only slightly sprained," he protested, holding his hands up in an attempt to placate me.

"This is utter crap! I won't sit for this!" I said, standing up from the couch and limping towards the door.

"Wait! You can't walk on that ankle immediately!" he protested, grabbing my arm in a small attempt to stop me.

"Shinra, what the hell's going on?" I heard Shizuo say from behind me, I glanced at him and saw him close the glass door shut behind him.

"Shizuo, help me restrain Amai-chan and keep her off her ankle," Shinra instructed, letting go of my arm to stand in front of the door and spread his arms wide to keep me from leaving.

"Kishitani-san, let me-What the hell! Shizuo, let go of my arms!" I yelled, squirming in his grasp, trying to get my arms unpinned from my sides as Shizuo held them there.

"No, you're hurt, you need to stay put."

"Her ankle's sprained; she needs to keep off of it for a few days!" Shinra said, making an unnecessary point.

"You said slightly!"

"I was under exaggerating!"

"When is everybody going to realize I'm not as fragile as you think I am! I'm not a frickin' doll!" I yelled, shaking Shizuo's grasp off and turning to him.

"Because you're a woman!"

"While I'm flattered that you finally realize I'm not a kid, just because I'm a woman doesn't make me weaker! What about Celty?! She's a badass _and_ a woman!"

"Celty's different!" Shizuo argued, eyebrows knitted together as he glared down at me, trying in vain to get me to see his point.

"How?!" I asked as the bathroom door clicked and swung open. I turned pointing to the current subject of our argument. "How are Celty and I diff-" My words dies in my throat as Celty stepped around the bathroom door and shut it closed. She still wore her slim black riding suit, the zipper down enough to show her cleavage, and a small, fluffy towel around her neck. And where I thought I would see red hair similar to mine, I saw none. Thin black wisps of smoke curled around her neck replaced it. And where there should have been a head, there was nothing besides the curling wisps and nothingness. As I took in this oddity I had only ever heard about from my grandfather, retellings of how he escaped death, and from my older brothers, sad attempts to get me to serve them, Shinra wigged out, arms flailing from what I could see. Shizuo reacted in a calmer manner, choosing instead to smack his hand to his head in a somewhat comical fashion that, at the moment, I found no humor in. Celty was the only one I had my eyes on as she seemed to frantically look from one man to the other before taking out her PDA and typing on it. I flinched a bit as she shoved it in my face.

**[Please don't scream.]**

Scream? Only wimps scream.

"Dullahan," I said weakly, before losing control of my mentalities and the ground rushed up to hit me in the face. In other words, I fainted. I am not a wimp. I am, however, a coward, and cowards fall. It was the second time that day that I had seen stars in broad daylight. And the second time since I met him that I heard Shizuo say part of my name in concern before my consciousness gave out entirely.


	22. Chapter 22: Messed-Up Night

**Man I hope he doesn't sound OOC in this chapter.**

"_Gather 'round lads and lassy, and let me tell ye 'bout my run in with a creature of old. The very same creature that ran me half way 'cross the world, the Dullahan."_

"_You mean the girl you ran away from?" _

"_Daideó, aren't Carney and Kazuhiro too young to hear this story?"_

"_Sonny, I told ye this story when ye were just a babe in wraps as well."_

"_Granddad, what's a Duleban?" _

"_It's pronounced _Dullahan_, Genius."_

"_The Dullahan is a-"_

"_Creature of shadow and night."_

"_Yes, yes, and it's-"_

"_A fairy that brings death with it." _

"_I was lucky to escape it with my life! And I-."_

"_Ran all the way to Japan to escape it. The end."_

"_Well thank ye lads, ye've ruined the story for little Maggie!" _

"_Better watch out, Amai. The Dullahan might get ya." _

"_Will not, Granddad said it lives in Ireland."_

"_It could be anywhere. Granddad said if it takes your soul, it'll make it its bitch."_

"_Will not, you're lying…will it really?"_

"_Amai-chan wake up." Huh?_

"_It's almost night fall, you need to wake up." It's night already? It's midday, wait, where am I?_

"Amai-chan, come on, you need to wake up," the voice said again, a voice I vaguely recognized as Shinra. I opened my eyes drowsily and looked up at the glasses wearing brunette.

"Leave me alone Kishitani-san, granddad was telling me a story, and who the hell gave you permission to call me 'Amai-chan'?" I said, reaching up to rub my eyes awake. Or rather I tried. I looked down at my arms and almost had a panic attack. I was tied to a chair…with stretchy black stuff. "What th-_why am I tied to a chair?! Why is there a Dullahan in Japan?! Why does my face hurt?!_" I asked, glaring at the men in front of me and trying hard not to stare at the woman behind them. The woman who now had a helmet atop her shoulders.

"You fell on your face when you fainted; luckily you didn't break your nose," Shinra said cheerfully, smiling as if to alleviate the present situation's tension.

"Yeah, lucky me. I just have a sprained ankle, a hurt face and am now tied to a chair in an underground doctor's apartment with a Dullahan and the man who brought me here. Does _no one_ see how _insane_ the present situation is?! Are you all _insane?!_ What is this stuff anyway?" I asked them, directing my last question towards the black stuff currently wrapped around me, holding me tightly to the chair.

"I'm sorry Amai-chan, but we can't let you go now that you know our secret," Shinra said, gaining a creepy, pre-murderous aura that disappeared as soon as Celty punched him in the stomach. She stepped forward suddenly, typing on her PDA again and showed me the screen abruptly, causing me to once again flinch.

**[Ignore Shinra, he sometimes acts like an idiot, but he's a nice guy. Anyway, the 'black stuff' is mine. We didn't want you bolting out of here on that ankle.]**

"Oh god, you're going to reap my soul, aren't you! Use it as your eternal servant and drag it around behind you tied to a rusty, steel chain and a headless horse!" I rambled, fidgeting wildly in my chair, trying to get out of the black stuff. _'Can't breathe, can't breathe, can't breathe!'_ I thought, the black stuff feeling tighter then it was before. In the back of my mind, it equated to the stuff of shadows. Soon I was hyperventilating and squirming worse than before. Both Shinra and Celty seemed at a loss of what to do from what I could see through my widened eyes, the only one that reacted to my panic attack was Shizuo.

He strode across the room in three long strides from where he was standing against the balcony door, a mask of calm irritation evident on his face. He stopped in front of me, looking down at my squirming form. By now my hyperventilating had transformed into ragged breathing at his approach. Removed his hands from his pockets, and placed them instead on either side of my chair. In one swift motion he picked it up and brought me to eye-level. "Amai, just calm the hell down! Celty's not gonna hurt you," he said, looking me square in the eye. I looked at him, trying to calm my breathing and the fluttering in my chest at the sound of my name finally being said by him. Too bad it was in this type of situation.

"Promise?" I asked as soon as I could catch my breath.

"Yeah," he said, setting me back down on the ground and taking a few steps back to stand beside Celty. I looked at Celty first and then back to Shizuo. He gave me a stern look, like the ones my father used to give me when I did something bad. I looked back to Celty, and felt ashamed of how I had reacted to her. If Shizuo trusted her, then there's nothing stopping me from doing the same.

"I'm sorry I freaked out, I've been told many…many things that are probably not true," I explained, fidgeting a bit in the chair. "It's probably not true anyway; my brother's have a habit of screwing me over. And my granddad was so freaked out that he might've fibbed a little on the details." She nodded like she understood what I meant and stepped forward, typing on the small cellular device.

**[I can't speak for all Dullahan's, but I won't hurt you. I'd untie you, but it's probably best that you stay put for now.]**

"Was that a threat? No offence to you, you are intimidating, but I can take you," I said, my general fear of her waning a bit in light of the challenge she posed. Her shoulders started shaking up and down, and she started typing again. '_Was she laughing at me?'_ I couldn't tell, but her movements seemed non-threatening. "Just 'cause I'm tied to a chair with…shadow string, doesn't make me less capable of fighting you. It just incapacitates me, that's all." She laughed again before showing me the screen.

**[I'm sorry, that wasn't a threat. It's just that you're hurt and you shouldn't move for awhile.]**

"So glad my present situation is funny to everyone, now can somebody please tell me what time it is. I need to wrap this conversation up and go to work," I said annoyed.

"It's a little after six Amai-chan."

"…What. I've been unconscious for seven hours, and _none of you bothered to wake me up BEFORE HAND?!" _I shouted, turning my glare to a frightened Shinra. "Seven hours! That's not _unconscious_, that's a frickin' _comma!"_

"No, no, no, it was just a normal REM sleep cycle. If it were a coma, you wouldn't have showed signs of stirring," he reassured me, smiling like he always did.

"Tch, whatever. Can someone get my cell phone out of my pocket and dial my boss' number for me? I need to let them know I'm not coming in anymore tonight." From beside Celty I saw Shinra move towards me and before he could touch my pocket I started shouting at him. "Not you, Dumbass! Celty!" After taking my phone she asked via PDA what number to dial. "Speed dial eleven."

After dialing, she set it on speaker phone and held the phone out for me. It took a while for him to answer, but when he did he did it in the most flamboyant way he could. Loud music pumped through the small speakers on the cell and an equally loud voice spoke through the noise. "_Thanks for calling_ _Manho-ru, how may I service you?!"_ God I hated that joke.

"Akira-san, it's me, Amai-"

"_Amai-tan! Where have you been?!Minori-chan hasn't seen you since last night either!"_ he interrupted, yelling into the phone in an attempt to be heard over the music.

"I'm at a doctor's apartment, I was getting a small exam," I explained.

"_You're playing doctor, Amai-tan? Do tell~"_

"_No_! No! The bastard's got me tied up right now!"

"_He has you tied up?! Omigod! So daring! So BDSM!"_

"_What?!_ No, no, no, no,

_O_, it is _not_ like that! I'm in a situation and I can't come in until tomorrow!" I said, my face growing hot. One more misunderstood comment and he'd make my face the same color as my hair.

"_You can't cum? Try another position darling, and don't worry about coming to work tonight, I'll give you the night off. Have fun~"_ With that end note he hung up, on both my dying dignity and my flaming red face. Celty gradually closed the phone and set it down on the table. I didn't see what she did afterward though because currently I was hanging my head in extreme embarrassment.

"Please untie me," I said quietly, softly. I heard no one move and moved my head to look at them pleadingly. "Please for the love of god! Someone untie me and let me out of this embarrassment!" I cried.

Around my arms I felt the shadow string loosen and saw it fade away. I flexed my arms and moved to stand up, only to have Shizuo set his hands on my shoulders and pin me in place. "You're not going anywhere, you're hurt."

"You're not the one who just got embarrassed by their boss in front of a stranger, an acquaintance and a friend," I said, still too embarrassed to look him in the eye and start much of an argument.

"Yeah, well…Shinra hasn't agreed to let you go yet and we need to talk about the whole Dullahan." I looked at him, raising an eyebrow at his logic.

"Fine, then by all means get me a drink, 'cause the only way I'll be able to get through the next conversation is drunk," I conceited, folding my arms across my chest and resting back against the chair, watching as Shinra crossed the room to the kitchen, Celty sit down on the couch beside me, making herself comfortable, and Shizuo continue to hold me in place, his grasp gradually loosening up and leaving my shoulders.

_DRRR!_

Shizuo's POV

"Shi~zu~o~san~" she sang, waving her hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention even though she was singing in my ear. Whoever had told her she could handle her alcohol must have been drunk or stupid.

"What?" I said through ground teeth, catching her hand and holding it still, all the while trying to control my anger at this drunken girl who clung to my back like some red-haired monkey.

"He-hey, how comes you wore a bartender's suit all the times?" she slurred, weakly trying to pull her hand free.

"Why do wear that hat all the time?" I asked looking back at her and seeing her hat skewed atop her head.

"'cause my bigger brother gave it to me," she laughed, giggling drunkenly and forgetting what she asked. "Hey Shizuo-san, are you's a bartender?"

"No, I'm a body guard for a debt collector," I told her, stopping on the sidewalk to hike her further up my back as she started to slip down and press her chest against my back.

"Nnnn~ that's not true! Yer a bartender! No, wait! Yer a spy who works undercover-like as a bartender. WAIT! Even betters! Yer a body guard that wears a bartender suit all the time!" she exclaimed, moving up higher on my back and pointing her finger to the sky in an exclamation point.

"_I already told you that!"_ I yelled involuntarily. She cringed down, hiding her face behind my shoulder and spoke quietly.

"I don' 'member you sayin' that. You's a liar."

"I'm not a liar, and stop pressing your boobs into my back so much, I can't concentrate." I growled, trying to distract myself unsuccessfully from the press of her breasts against my upper back and the warmth of her legs wrapped around my waist.

"Don't yells! It's not attractive-like!" she pouted, resting her head against my neck. She said something else, but it came out muffles against my neck.

"What?" I asked, trying to look at her, but only seeing red hair.

"Where's we goin'?" she asked, picking her head back up to look at me. Her face was red and her pupils were small despite the small amount of light coming from the street lights. Although I had seen them before, I couldn't tell the exact color of them through my shades, now I could tell they were a bright green, almost the color of Sakura tree leaves. I looked back ahead to the sidewalk, seeing less and less people walk by the later it got and the further out of the city we got.

"Your apartment. You live on the edge of the red light district, right?" I said, trying not to feel her hands press against my chest as she fidgeted on my back. What was this girl doing to me? Was she doing this on purpose just to mess with me?

"NO! Minori Taka-chan isn't home and you can'ts let a drunk person alone on their oneself," she said suddenly, slapping my chest with her hand repeatedly, trying to make a point.

"Why does it matter if he's there or not?! You live by yourself anyway," I pointed out roughly. Her eyes rimmed with tears and she started crying, making me feel uncomfortable.

"It's not voluntary! Guys don't like me 'cause I'm a bitch an' I knows it! An' I need Minori-chan there 'cause my house caved in an' I gots nowhere ta go!" she cried, burying her face into my shirt and vest and letting her tears stain the cloth there. What was this girl doing to me?

"Hey, Amai, come on. Calm down," I said, trying unsuccessfully to get her to stop crying. When none of my words reached her I stopped on the sidewalk, and let go of her legs, letting her slid off my back. She stood awkwardly there, her hands reaching up to wipe at her face as she cried harder. I sighed again, wishing to myself that Celty was there to help me comfort her. Do I just…hug her? I tried that, using one hand to wrap around her and press against her back, pulling her to me. She reacted not like I'd expected. She let her arms drop from her face and reached around me to hug me close as well, burying her face against my chest. I let her stay there for awhile, let her cry and make my clothes wet, let her hug me tighter against her. When she stopped crying, I took that as a cue to let go of her, yet when I did she clung to the front of my vest, sniffling. She looked up, a pout on her lips and watery eyes.

"Shizuo-san, I don' want to be alone. Can I go to your house?" she asked. I hesitated, looking down at her and regretting it. She looked so helpless, vulnerable, so unlike herself. If I left her alone, the worst could happen. Then I remembered a few weeks ago when I found her being assaulted by that guy, what's-his-name. My jaw clenched and my anger spiked just remembering that bastard. If I left her alone there, there's no way that guy won't try to take advantage of her like this. My hands clenched involuntarily as I looked at my feet rather than her and nodded my head, not wanting to see her pouting face.

"Yay~! I'm going to Shizu-chan's house!" she shouted, hopping around me on one foot and hopping onto my back suddenly.

"_Don't call me that!"_ I shouted at her, causing her to jut out her lower lip and narrow her eyes at me. Was she _glaring_ at me? Before I could ask her though, she had already moved on to whatever the hell was floating through her inebriated mind

"Hey-hey, can you say my's name again Shizuo-san? Like you's did at Celty's an' Shinra's?" she asked, her breath reeking of alcohol as she pressed her face against mine in a pleading gesture.

'_At Celty and Shinra's? Wait, she said something about a friend after her boss embarrassed her. What was it again?'_ I thought, trying to remember what she had said while she rested her head against mine when I didn't answer her. "What did you mean when you said you were embarrassed in front of a friend, and stranger and an acquaintance? Who's what?" I asked her, turning my head slightly to get her attention.

"Hmm? You means when m'boss made all those sex jokes and embarrasseded the hells outta me?" she asked tiredly. Good thing we were a few blocks away from my apartment. "Mmm, well, Kishitani-san is a stranger, but only 'cause I get this urge to punch him sometimes. An' Celty is an acquaintance 'cause after the only, 'she'll kills me' incident, I think we cans get along. An' of course your my friend Shizuo."

I looked back at her astonished. Was she serious? Was her…her friend? For the first time tonight, I was glad she was drunk so she wouldn't see the blush that I was sure was on my face. I'm her friend. Why did I want more though?

_DRRR!_

Amai's POV

This is why I don't drink Sake. In my opinion, it's not strong enough and I get drunk easily on it. Which is why, needless to say, my head was pounding like a drum at a rock performance and my throat was dryer than a desert. Not to mention that the sun was daring to show its evil light and penetrating the protective barrier my eye lids provided me, making them hurt. Turning away from the obnoxious light, I burrowed into the source of warmth next to me, smiling contentedly against their skin. '_…Skin? Not...fur? Or cloth?'_ I thought, my mind going to the only two things I had felt against me in the last four days. I inhaled sharply and an acrid smell entered my nose. _'Smoke? Taka-chan smokes sometimes, it could be him,'_ I thought, trying to rationalize whatever weird-ass situation I was in. I opened my eyes a little against every pounding headache telling me not to. The chest I was looking at was toned and pale, almost opposite of a lanky Taka-chan. I looked up a little and saw the other arm bent under my head, serving it as a pillow. I looked down towards his stomach and saw an equal toned, pale arm wrapped around my body and holding me close to him. I then took account of what I was feeling. Besides the warm body I was currently nestled next to, I was bare, my only cover my bra and underwear and of course the blanket that covered us both. Suddenly the arm wrapped around me felt heavy against my naked side. I knew who it was that I was next to before I even dared look up at the tall blonde male beside me. When I did, I let out a shriek.

He started violently, ripping his arm away from to cover his ears, letting me go to quickly scramble away from him, grabbing the ends of the blanket to cover myself as I fell off the edge of the bed. "Where the hell am I?! Why am I half-naked?! What the hell happened last night?!" I yelled, partially ignoring the pounding in my head before it grew to be too much and I ended up letting go of my cover to curl into myself and clutch my head between my hands.

"You got drunk and asked to go with me to my apartment," he grumbled, looking away from me as he talked. He stood up on the opposite side of the bed and picked up a shirt-my shirt-and threw it at me. I caught it with my head and quickly slipped it on when he turned his back on me.

"That explains what I'm doing here, but why am I in my bra and panties?" I said, glaring at his back before looking around the floor for my pants.

"As soon as you were inside you started striping and fell asleep on my bed, and will you _not _say _panties _again," he explained, looking back at me before turning sharply around when he saw my underwear.

'_At least he has the manners to look away,' _ I thought, locating my pants underneath the bed, pulling them out and slipping them on one leg at a time before remembering that I had a sprained ankle and fell onto my butt once again when a sharp pain went through it.

"You okay?" he asked, inclining his head towards me.

"Yeah. Can you help me up? I just remembered my ankle was sprained."

"You forgot about your injury?"

"I was kinda distracted from being half-naked in bed with you," I explained, grinning up at his slightly blushing face as he came over to grab my arm and pull me up, holding me steady while I balanced on one leg. "Hey, if I fell asleep before you, then why were you sleeping next to me?"

"Huh? It's my bed, why shouldn't sleep in it."

"Umm, 'cause I was there first? I know you're a virgin but at least be a little embarrassed about sleeping next to a half-naked…wait…you pervy virgin! You _wanted_ to sleep next to me, didn't you!" I exclaimed, looking at him with a look of mixed anger and surprise.

"_What?_! No I'm not!" he exclaimed, letting go of my arm with a small blush on his face and narrowed, angry eyes.

"Yes you are! You-oh hell, I can't do this with a hangover," I said, bringing my hand up to massage my aching temples. "I'm not gonna let you off the hook for seeing my womanly curves, so let's revisit the issue when I'm in less pain." He seemed to consider this and nodded once sharply, walking past me quickly, like all he wanted in the world was to get out of that room. I took that moment to assess myself, looking over what parts of my body I could see by myself and walking into the adjoining bathroom to look over the parts I couldn't see. Either Shizuo was a perfect gentleman or he really was an inexperienced virgin that didn't know when to take an opportunity when it stared him in the face. I noted to myself that it was probably both as he was blushing when he turned away as I got dressed. And while this whole event had brought up painful memories for me, I couldn't keep myself from wondering what it would feel like to be wrapped in his arms again and feel the delicious heat pressed against my body again. Even in an innocent embrace, it felt safer and warmer than the first time I had had sex, the polar opposite in fact, and the times after that had been little more than inviting. Why did I feel so safe in the arms of a man touted as Ikebukuro's strongest man?

"Amai, are you coming or not?" Shizuo asked from outside his bedroom door.

"What?" I asked snapping from my reverie to look towards the man in the entrance to his bedroom.

"It's not like your gonna go to work with a hangover, so why don't you come with me for the day and follow me around?" he said leaning against the door frame, his white button up unbuttoned and a bow tie clip hanging around his neck.

"Ah, um, yeah, just let me try and make my clothes look better," I said, gesturing to my wrinkled, backward shirt and unbuttoned pants. He nodded before pushing off the door frame and going back into whatever room was beyond his bedroom. As soon as he left, I turned my shirt around and buttoned my pants, going back to the mirror in his bathroom to fix whatever mess my hair was currently in. as I looked at the crow's nest that sat atop my head I thought of three different people I did not want to see who would instantly mistake my look as a one night stand. I fixed it as best I could and walked out of the bedroom to wherever Shizuo was in his apartment and soon after left to meet up with his boss to begin their day of debt collecting. I had a feeling I was going to see a lot of deadbeats and bruised faces.


	23. Chapter 23: Concerned

"There's no way this is coffee."

"It's coffee milk, 'course it's coffee."

"It's not coffee, it's hot chocolate, and it's frickin' delicious," I said, downing the last drops of chocolaty goodness before looking down through blue tinted glass at the blonde man carrying me. "Thanks for lending me your shades by the way…and buying me coffee…and letting me stay at your place."

"Anything else to add to that list or are you done?" Tom asked, looking back at me and Shizuo, an annoyed look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm done boss man," I said, throwing the paper cup at an outdoor waste basket.

"Why is Shizuo carrying you anyway?"

"'cause your bodyguard sprained my ankle and now he's taking responsibility for my mild inability to walk," I answered, rewrapping my arms around Shizuo's neck. "So who's the first deadbeat Shizuo-san's gonna beat up?"

"He won't have to if the 'dead beats' pay up like they're supposed to," he retorted.

"Good luck with that dream," I muttered, looking around at the spectacular view Shizuo provided. _'So this is what it's like to be tall,'_ I thought, looking at the people that swarmed around us as they walked to their destinations. _'Note to self, thank Shizuo for the gift of height.'_

"What's your reason for wearing his shades by the way?" Tom asked, looking back up at me.

"I got drunk off my ass last night, and was way hung over this morning and the light is _evil,_ along with my eyes being bloodshot," I said, over explaining myself. He nodded his head understandably and stopped at a small apartment complex before heading upstairs to the front door of the apartment. At his first knock and inquiry to the person who lived there, a person could be seen climbing out of the side window, a frightened look upon his face. This routine went on for several other stops, and as the day grew late and Tom's annoyance at my explanations and questions deepened. Shizuo's annoyance at my incessant questions fluctuated and waned as time went on and whenever he seemed to get overly pissed at a client with no good reason, I would step in before he got too mad. On one occasion when the client was borrowing money for a call girl, I let Shizuo do his rampant bull bit, if not for my own personal amusement.

By the end of the day, I was assured of a few things. One, Tom and I would be in a he-hates-me, I-annoy-him-to-no-end relationship. Two, Shizuo was a natural brunette. This I know because his roots were starting to show, although for some reason I could not for the life of me see Shizuo with brown hair instead of blonde. I could always try seeing if the carpet matched the curtains, but I'm not that brave, plus he would probably kill me if I asked him to drop his pants…possibly. And three, I had made unlikely friends with the same guy who had thrown a deadbeat through the store window more than a month ago. Strange how life works sometimes.

"Hey Shizuo, can you put me down a sec? I need to call in sick at work," I said, wriggling on his back to try and get down after finding out I was an hour away from starting my five o' clock shift. He tensed a bit then loosened his grip on my legs, letting me slid to the ground before stepping away from me and towards Tom, hands shoved into his pockets.

I leaned against a nearby lamp post, and took out my phone. While I waited for Akira-san to pick up, I watched Shizuo and Tom talk for a moment. Was I insane, or was Tom looking at me an awful lot? I didn't get a chance to ask him because Akira-san took that moment to answer his phone.

"_Manho-ru, how may I service you," _answered the shrill voice of my boss.

"Akira-san, it's Amai, and before you say anything, I have a bone to pick with you," I said, a hint of menace edging my voice.

"_Amai-tan, how was your night?! Pretty steamy by what you told me, right?" _he asked excitedly, suggestively.

"Okay, first of all, none of that perverted, sexual stuff that you made up happened. I went to a doctor to get my ankle examined and then one thing led to another and he threatened me with imprisonment. Anyway, I can't come in tonight, I got super wasted and my head still hurts. The noise at the club would kill me," I explained, putting a hand up to my head as it began to throb again, and slid it from my temple to the glasses to push them back up my nose as it slid down, revealing to me the last rays of sunlight as they dipped down behind the tall buildings.

"_Oh Amai-tan, here I was hoping you had finally gotten laid, and you just go and dash away all my hopes and dreams,"_ he said, fake weeping at the thought of my pathetically alone life being wasted.

"Yeah, sorry to disappoint," I said sarcastically, looking over my shoulder at the cars that zoomed past me.

"_Mmm, yeah, oh and Amai-tan, I'm sorry, but you'll have to come in tonight, I've got no one to cover you and you know how Saturday nights are,"_ he said apologetically.

"What? What about Ryou-san? He's just on vacation, right?"

"_He's on maternity leave. He just adopted the cutest baby girl. If you come in, I'll show you the pictures he sent me."_

"A baby girl? Lucky bastard, why does he get one and I don't?" I complained, pouting.

"_I'm sure your destined guy is nearer than you think, Amai-tan. Anyway, shift's in an hour, so be here on time."_

"Yeah, alright," I grumbled dejectedly, grimacing at the thought of all that mind blowing music.

"_Oh, and can you at least tell me one good thing that happened in your life just to send me on my merry way,"_ he begged.

"Ummm…I'm hanging out with a guy right now," I said, looking over towards Shizuo.

"_Oh! Oh! Is he attractive?"_ he asked, sounding suddenly hopeful.

"Yeah, he's attractive, some of his mannerisms are pretty cute actually," I answered, looking over Shizuo's long body before looking away slightly embarrassed when he suddenly turned to look over at me.

"_Aww~ there's hope for you yet Amai-tan!"_

"Yeah, I gotta go, see you tonight boss," I said, closing my phone and sliding it back into my pocket. "So I gotta go guys, work misses me and it wants me back," I said as I hopped over to the two of them, putting a hand on Shizuo's arm to steady myself.

"Well it was nice meeting you again Tachibana-san, but I guess this is where we part ways," he said dismissively.

"Yeah," I said curtly with as much enthusiasm as he had granted me before turning to Shizuo. "Hey, before I forget, can I get you cell number? I'll give you mine, too."

"Why?" he asked, but took his phone out nonetheless.

"We're friends; it's only natural to have each other's cell numbers," I answered taking his phone and flipping both his and mine open as I took out and inputted numbers into them before handing his back along with his sunglasses. "See you guys later then."

"How are you going to get back on your own?" Shizuo asked, absentmindedly running a hand through his hair after putting his phone away and slipping his glasses on.

"Shizuo, we're in the red-light district. I can literally see my old apartment building three blocks from here," I said, pointing it out. "Bye guys." I waved to them one final time before hopping my way down the sidewalk, using the walls of the buildings next to me as support and limping painfully when I crossed the street or ran into the mouth of an alley. Eventually though I got to the apartment building, and began the even more painful task of walking up the three flights of stairs. When I got up to the third floor, I was so out of breath I practically fell through the door of Taka-chan's apartment, startling him terribly, and said the only thing that came to mind.

"What is your best cure for a hangover?"

_DRRR!_

Once again, for the second time that day, my head was pounding, and unfortunately it wouldn't be going away anytime soon. The bright lights weren't helping any either. I looked over towards Taka-chan, seeing him laughing and giggling and flirting with multiple guys at once. All except the one in front of me.

"Karin-chan, he's always surrounded by different guys, and I can never get close to him, do you think I'll get to talk to him soon?" Naoki said, sighing dejectedly in Taka-chan's direction. I looked towards the man before me. Well really he looked closer to a bear than a man in stature and muscle. Shaggy black hair, muscular build, scruffy stubble, if I didn't know better, I'd second guess myself on his sexuality.

"I'm surprised you haven't bowled over the other guys just to get close to him," I commented, "I mean, the guys he's flirting with aren't even in his league, and they're still trying to get in his man panties."

"Bunch of perverts. Why does he give low lives his time, yet give someone who likes him the cold shoulder," he said, folding his arms on the counter and leaning his forward against them. I poured him a shot of whiskey and gave him the only advice I could think of.

"Maybe he's playing hard to get," I suggested, pouring myself a shot of the same and throwing it back.

"I already thought of that, but he never even looks my way when I'm not looking to see if I'm jealous."

"If you're not looking, then how can you tell he's not looking?" I asked, pondering the conundrum. He pouted, nursing the shot very sadly. '_Crap, why'd he have to look so much like Poochie?'_ I thought, trying to look away from the sad face that resembled my scruffy dog so much. "Okay, if I ask him about you, will you stop making that face?" I asked, refilling his shot glass.

"I don't need your help capturing a man's attention," he said yet looking up at me all the while with hopelessly hopeful eyes. I sighed, rolling my eyes towards the ceiling before walking over to where Minori-chan was currently flirting and serving drinks to five guys at once.

"Minori-chan I have a-!" I said before ducking down quickly behind the bar and sort of squatting there with my head covered; less the two gentlemen who walked in see me.

"Karin-chan? What are you doing down there?" Minori-chan asked, sending a polite smile towards the questioning men before squatting down beside me.

"Those two guys who walked in, I know them."

"Which two?"

"The blonde guy and the guy with the dreadlocks." Minori-chan peeked over the bar and stood up when the men got in the way of his vision. When he saw them he ducked down beside me and whispered furiously to me.

"What are the debt collector duo doing here?!"

"I don't know! I can't speak for Tom, but I know for a _fact_ that Shizuo isn't gay."

"Well why ar-how do you know for a fact?" he asked, taking interest in the wrong issue.

Determined to get him back on track I promised him I would 'tell all' later. "Are they looking for you? You got a debt or something?"

"No, I don't have de-…that son of a bitch. That Eskimo jacket wearing bastard screwed me over! _Dammit!_ Why didn't I see that coming?!"

"Eskimo? Amai-chan, did you give them all your info?"

"No, I just gave them the semi-truth."

"What does that me-"

"Hello ladies, I'm looking for a Karin Sudachi who works here." Tom said, leaning far over the counter to look down upon us. Minori-chan raised a questioning eyebrow at me and shrugged back, having no idea where he had gotten the last name, and having a small suspicion that his boss had botched my name.

Looking back up at Tom I stood up quickly, bringing Minori-chan with me.

"What can I do for ya sweetie?" I said, smiling my most charming smile.

"You must be Sudachi-san then," he said, smiling a little flirtatiously. If only I could see the look on his face if he found out it was me. Beside me Minori-chan let out a little exasperated sound and walked around me to tend to more customers. I tugged on his sleeve and whispered to him to tend to Naoki-san while I took care of Tom-san. He smiled delightedly and left to talk to the bear of a man while I turned back to the man in front of me.

"That's right, how may I service you today?"

"You've recently taken out a loan from the company, and we're here to collect your debt," he said, sitting down at one of the open bar stools, Shizuo standing behind him, looking all intimidating in his blue sunglasses and expression-less face.

"No, I've never taken out a loan in my life, you must have me mistaken with someone else," I responded, all the while thinking, _'What is this moron doing here less than two days after I took out a loan?!'_

"Is that so? Shizuo, wait here, I'm going outside to make a call," he said, sounding skeptical of my lie. He left soon after, retrieving a cell phone out of his pocket and dialing a number. The blonde man stepped forward a bit and looked down at me while I went back to work. After a couple minutes, Tom had not come back, and Shizuo was starting to look so antsy and uncomfortable that most of the men and women that usually crowded the bar left his general vicinity. I looked over at him after mixing a drink and decided to go over and talk to him for a bit until Tom came back.

"Are you feeling all right? You look kind of…twitchy," I said, folding my arms on top of the bar and leaning against them. He looked up, startled, and looked back down again before speaking.

"Yeah, I've just never been in this kind of…club before," he answered, looking around at the grinding, writhing bodies on the dance floor.

"A regular club or this kind of club?"

"Both."

"Well don't worry, Hun, we don't bite, hard." I can't believe I get paid to say that.

"I'm not interested, just so you know."

"What, you think these are fake? Touch 'em if you want, they're a hundred percent real," I teased, pointing to my ample breasts, making his face flush red and his eyes look down, both in embarrassment and frustration.

"That's not what I meant!" he shouted defensively, although I could just barely hear him over the pounding music.

"You got someone you like?" I asked, wondering if I could somehow use this stolen information against him somehow the next time I saw him.

"Maybe," he answered as cryptic as ever.

Before I could ask who it was however, Tom came back, apologizing for the confusion earlier. "Sorry about that, my boss got the name mixed up. Does an Amai Tachibana work here? About yay high, red hair, has a real bitchy attitude," he said, gesturing with his hand.

"Tachibana? I think she's new here, but she's not working tonight," I answered, playing dumb.

"Shizuo, she said she was working tonight, right?" Tom asked him, turning away from to the blonde man behind him.

Before he could answer him, I interrupted. "Must have lied then, she doesn't work tonight." Behind him, I saw Shizuo squint at me, like he saw something that there, but not quite there. His eyes widened and suddenly I knew that he knew it was me.

"I'll call her up then," he said, walking back to the front door, and, again, slipping his phone out of his pocket.

"Shizuo, before you say a word, yes it's me, and I just need a little bit of time before I can pay my debt," I said, speaking low fast to Shizuo, grasping the edge of his black vest to bring him in close.

"What are you doing borrowing money from us?" he asked, looking pissed while he unfurled my fingers from his clothes.

"I didn't know it was you guys' company when I borrowed the money!" I said, gripping the countertop. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tom reenter the club, the cell phone held to his ear while he called to his partner. The sound of my phone ringing suddenly called out, alerting both men. I hesitantly picked it up, and by the look on Tom's surprised face, I could tell the ringing on his phone had stopped as well."Hello?" I asked into the phone, sounding very weak.

"Karin Sudachi, huh?" Tom said, sounding double in my ears.

"You're the one that made it up, not me," I said defensively.

"Well, Tachibana-san, it's time to pay your debt, and I suggest you don't try to evade us a second time." Says the man who was evaded close to three time's by a perverted ex-yakuza. For a second, I debated whether or not to play my bitch card, but instead decided to play it cool.

"Please! I borrowed that money two days ago and you bitches come around asking' for more? No! At least give me the full week to get money together. I'm not a dead beat, I'm good for it."

"Very ironic Tachibana-san. You tag along with us all day while we make our rounds and call our clients deadbeats, yet here you are, making the same excuses as them." Alright, enough of the weepy, begging act, this is war!

"Hey! I am not like any of those deadbeats! I have two jobs! The only thing that hasn't gone my way this week is my roof caving in and leaving my homeless! And spare me whatever pity you have for me, 'cause I don't need it!" I growled through gritted teeth, trying to keep my temper low. "And another thing, your boss said you'd be collecting next week. It's been two days. Give me a chance to save up my money," I rationalized, after pouring myself a shot of bourbon to cool myself down.

He looked at me, like he didn't believe I would pay them back. Understandable given his job. "Feel free to stand there all night, but unless you plan on getting grouped by men, you'll have to wait until next Friday to get your money."

He grimaced before turning on his heel and stalking out of the establishment. I waved a quick goodbye to Shizuo as he left; he waved a little back before shoving his hand back in his pocket. For a brief moment, before people started coming back to the bar, I wondered what Shizuo had meant by maybe. And when I thought of that, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten to ask him about last night. What did I say? What did I do? So far the only thing I could think of that would embarrass me would be puking in public.

…what if…I hadn't done something that embarrassed me, but, rather, said something. Did I…did I tell him about that night with Suzuki-sensei?

My adrenaline fueled me as I limped quickly towards the pair trying to make their way out of the club. "Shizuo!" I called, hobbling pathetically past the men and women that dance around me until I caught the cuff of his white shirt between my fingers. He looked around until he caught my eye between the spaces in-between people. "I need to talk to you!" I shouted, my words sounding deaf in my own ears as my head began to pound again in time with the music. He seemed to understand because one minute I was standing on my own two feet, then suddenly I was being lifted like a bag of flour above the crowd until my stomach rested on the hard edge of his shoulder. When I began moving backward, I grew embarrassed and started to fidget and move around on his shoulder, either in a desperate attempt to get off of his shoulder or to get more comfortable I couldn't remember, because as soon as I started moving, Shizuo put a hand on the back of my upper thigh and told me to "Stop moving my ass so much," when he's walking. Even in the near darkness and flashes of bright colors, I could tell my face was, once again, bright red.

I knew we were outside once the cool air bit my legs and feet. Shizuo set me down on the sidewalk, stepping away from me to lean against the side of the club, looking at me before motioning to Tom behind me that he would catch up later. I don't know if Tom left or not, but figured he had walked away when Shizuo trained his eyes on me. I bit my lip, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it. "Um, I um…did…what were you and Tom talking about before, back when I made a phone call, Tom kept looking' at me," I said, looking down at my feet, hating myself for chickening out.

"He was just being stupid. Kept asking if we were dating," he said gruffly, "Is that all you wanted to ask?"

I bit my lip, trying to refrain myself from both asking him what I said last night and from asking him what he said to Tom. "No, that's…that's it. Umm…see you later then," I said quickly moving to go back inside. My arm was caught and my feet ceased their movement as I looked back at Shizuo.

"Is that all you wanted to ask?" he repeated, his eyes burrowing into mine.

"No," I said unconsciously, "Did I say anything last night? Like anything…startling? Or…just, anything?"I asked. I shuffled my feet uncomfortably.

He didn't say anything at first, then, "I gotta leave now. Let's talk tomorrow, alright?"

"Why do you have to go?"

"'Cause if I stay longer and talk about it, it'll give me more incentive to go up to Hokkaido to kill him," he said plain and simple. I didn't know how to feel when he said this. I wasn't shocked that I had told him, seeing as how I was drunk, but at the same time I was horrified that he knew. It was strange; I didn't even feel this bad when Sora knew. Why do I hurt this much knowing Shizuo knows?

"You shouldn't, it's not worth the trouble," was my response.

"I should because it is," he said, his eyebrows furrowing together in frustration at my nonchalant behavior.

"It happened a long time ago. Nothing done now will help the past." I said, checking my phone and turning to go home when I saw my shift was over.

"Have you ever tried?" he asked me. I stopped, looking down at the ground before I looked back over my shoulder at him. What I saw there shocked me. He looked…concerned. Besides my family, I've never seen someone-a man-be concerned for me. Not even my best friends Yuki and Hikaru were ever that…_worried_ about me back in high school, and that was only because I was "Tomboy Tachibani". It was weird, this concernment for me. I hated it.

"Do whatever you want. I'm going home," I said, walking forward again, leaving him behind me, leaving his concern and his questions behind me. It wasn't until later, when I was halfway home that I let myself think about it-about him-again. Let myself think about how it felt knowing he was concerned about me. Shizuo, do you…care about me?

"Does he…l-MMPH!" a hand wrapped around my mouth, cutting me off. Instinctively I pulled away from whoever was behind me, but they wrapped an arm around my waist and me back against their body, making me struggle all the more.

"Little Miss Fireball shouldn't be walking around alone like that, might be picked up by some thugs," slurred a voice I hadn't heard in a very long time. "Good thing me an' my friends were here ta pick ya up." I couldn't tell before where I had heard the voice, but from his slurred words I soon figured out that it was Chikan-san, back from whatever hole he had crawled into. Back to finish the job he had started weeks ago.


	24. Chapter 24: One Night Stand

**Ducky9002, I like your style, and I must thank you. Although you threatened to hit me in the head with a keyboard that's attached to my laptop (which would probably put me in a coma), you have inspired me to rewrite this chapter as it did not compliment Amai's badassery. Thank you for putting me back on track. Now~ let's see how this chapter goes~**

I tried to look around at Chikan-san, and found instead two other people standing beside him, sick grins on their faces and a look in their eyes that made my skin crawl. I shook my head, to both get his hand off of my mouth and to keep my mind from slipping. If I let my mind slip, then I may as well have lost the battle. "We was wonderin' when you was comin' out of that place, and lookit ya! Shakin' that ass and showin' yer boobs to a buncha gay men. Bet yer just beggin' for a taste a real man," he said, breathing his alcoholic breath into my ear. His hand slipped from my mouth to wrap around my arms and chest, allowing me to speak freely. He's a bastard and a dumbass, but even he knew that no one would be around this time of night.

"Yeah, let me go and I'll try to find some, Chikan-san," I sad, thrashing against his arms while trying to remember every action/karate/ass-kicking movie I saw in the last month with Colm. For some reason all I could think of doing was gouging out his eyeballs with a spoon and stuffing them down his throat. Not that it wouldn't work, I just didn't have a spoon. Unfortunately, in this position, I couldn't use my bat either, not that I had it since Shizuo bent it into a boomerang the last time I used it. The thrashing didn't do much besides move the wig from atop my head to the sidewalk, revealing my bright red hair to the dark night.

"Very funny Amai, now hold still so we can finish what we started," he said, turning me around in his arms. Bad move since I head butted his nose first chance I got. He cried out, letting go of me to clutch his bleeding nose. I would've run at that moment, but I never took into account how much head butts hurt, coupled with the remnants of my hangover, so I made the mistake of clutching my forehead in pain, allowing the two behind him to jump into action, albeit slowly, and grab my arms, lifting me into the air.

"If you think I was a willing participant last time, you're more delusional than you let on," I spat at him, throwing my legs around, trying to get down, or at the very least kick the two guys in their shins.

"If that bartender guy didn't get in the way, then you would've been beggin' for it when I got ma' mojo goin'," he said, wiping the blood from his nose onto his sleeve._ 'Mojo? Where's he from, the seventies?'_

"It's the bartender's fault you didn't indulge in your sick hobby of assaulting apartment neighbors. It's my fault for not letting him beat you into a pile of shit," I smirked at his infuriated expression before frowning in displeasure when he got closer. He surprised me instead by slapping me hard across the face. It wasn't the first time I had tasted blood. The first time had been when I got in a fight in fifth grade and got one of my loose teeth knocked out; bitch didn't have a strong enough punch. I spat the small amount of blood at the concrete, chancing a glance at him and seeing his unshaved face looked super pissed. Good, then both of us were on equal levels of contempt for each other.

"Yer just another goddamn bitch who doesn't know when ta shut up. It's no wonder everyone in the city hates yer guts," he said, accenting the final word with a jab at my stomach.

"'least I have the guts to say my mind and kick some ass. The only guts you have are the ones attached to you. No wonder the Yakuza fired yo-." A hard punch to my stomach took the breath from my lungs and my words died out as I tried to suck in breath through my clenched teeth. I looked up at him through squinted eyes as he looked down at me, grinning smugly. I frowned at this, and looked down, noticing that he left one vital area open for attack. His face wasn't in my attack range, one thing was however. Bringing my leg back slowly, I let it swing forward fast and hard, kicking him in the crotch and sending him down clutching his balls in extreme pain. Wimp. I've seen Momo-chan give birth, and she wasn't in as much pain as he seemed to be in. She was hopped up on a bunch of pain killers and Daichi was small, but it's the principle that counts.

"Hotaka-san!" the guys holding me shouted, letting my arms go and dropping me to the ground to attend to an 'injured' Chikan-san. I backed up a few steps, debating the flight or fight rule.

"Didn't yer whore mother ever teach ya ta treat a man's jewels with respect?!" one of the men spat at me, standing up from Chikan-san's side to try and hit me. I ducked out of the way and let him stumble forward at the loss of a target before grabbing the fabric on his back and holding him in place before kneeing him in the stomach repeatedly.

"My mother's not a whore, and neither will she be ridiculed for what she did, or didn't teach me you moronic, pathetic, _bastard_!" I shouted, pushing him against the wall. He hit his head and slid down the length of the wall, unconscious.

"You bitch!" the other man shouted, coming up behind me to do exactly what his friend did. I didn't make it a habit to fight drunks, because they were…pathetic fighters. Clumsy, arrogant, made the same mistakes every time. This one was no exception; he was stupid, and easy to deal with. When I ducked out of the way of his sloppy fist, he ran right into the wall and hit his head, knocking himself out. I looked over at Chikan-san boredly as he glared up at me.

"You should've brought better muscle, Chikan-san," I said, walking towards him.

"Even if you go to the police, who are they gonna believe? Me, an ex-yakuza, or you, the most hated bitch in the city with a marked up record?" he said, standing up and backing away, still hunched over as he cupped his crotch. I looked up at him, finding exactly what I wanted in his eyes. Fear. I could work with fear, it's lust that I have trouble with, that makes me freeze up and lose myself in the midst of trouble. I shook my head free of the 'happy' memories that clouded it, before grinning up at Chikan-san.

"I don't need the police to solve my problems, Chikan-san. I just need the knowledge that you fear me."

_DRRR!_

I don't know how I knew, but I did. Although I was drunk when we walked the path, I still remembered it, like it was a path I walked every day. I don't know why I choose to go to this place, it would have been more logical to go home since it was closer. But I came here. Why? Maybe I needed some comfort. So I stood there before his door, not really knowing what to do beyond knocking. So here I stood, in front of his door, waiting for him to wake up and open it. I had to knock a few times and wait a half hour, but he eventually opened the door, or rather, he almost pulled it off its hinges. He squinted at me, or rather glared at me, before recognizing me.

"Amai?"

"Expectin' someone else?" I teased, smiling up at him.

"It's two in the morning, what are you doing here?" he asked after shaking his head.

"Mind if I come in?"I asked timidly looking up at him through short bangs. He hesitated, but nodded his head, opening the door a little wider as he stepped back, allowing me to enter. "This is a nice place, look even nicer if most of it weren't cracked," I said, stepping inside and looking around the apartment, wondering if I had said the same thing when I was here the first time.

"Why are you covered in blood?"

"Hmm? Oh, you know…got in a fight."

"Is it yours?"

"A lot of it is Chikan-san's. He decided to pay me a visit with his friends when I was walking home. It was really nice, we hashed things out and solved our problems," I said, untying the vest around my waist and letting it drop to the floor. I looked over at Shizuo as he stood there shocked, and watched as his surprised face slowly morphed into anger. He turned away from me, going to the door.

"Where are ya goin'?" I asked, catching the loose fabric of his sweatpants between my fingertips.

"To kill him," he answered simply, grabbing the doorknob.

"That wouldn't do any good, he's been beaten senseless already," I said, letting his pants go, smirking inwardly and outwardly when I got a glimpse of his boxer shorts.

"What did you do?" he asked, letting the doorknob go to face me once again.

"Broke a few something's and rearranged his face. He'll probably want to go to the police, but I doubt it since he'll have to explain why he was walking around at midnight and just 'happened' to see me," I said nonchalantly.

"Why'd you come over here?"

"The better question would be: "How did I find this place when I was drunk before?" the answer is: I don't know. I just wanted to go somewhere comfortable and I guess this place makes me feel comfortable. Does that make sense?" I asked, opening his fridge and taking out a bottle of milk before rummaging through his cupboards.

"I guess. What are you doing?" he asked, coming to stand behind me when I couldn't quite reach the top shelf of one of the cupboards.

"I see cinnamon up there, but I can't reach it. Ya got any honey per chance?" I asked when he reached up easily and grabbed the small spice bottle for me.

"Yeah, but you wanna ask a person for permission before you start raiding their fridge?" he asked grumpily. Understandable since I woke him up in the middle of the night.

"I'm sorry I woke you up for a petty reason, but I'll leave soon, just let me make something to help you get back to sleep," I answered, pouring the milk and honey into two mugs and putting them inside his microwave.

"It's fine, I wasn't sleeping anyway," he answered, leaning his hip against the counter.

"Why? Were you looking at porn or something?" I asked, momentarily distracted from the microwave to look over at his shocked and blushing face.

"_N-NO_! And what do you mean leave? You're not leaving."

"Oh yeah? Give me one good reason why I'm not," I said, putting my hands on my hips and glaring up at him. Beside me the microwave dinged, but I paid no mind to it, choosing instead to focus my attention on the blond glaring down at me.

"You're covered in blood, it's two in the morning, you were assaulted-again-and I don't want you keeling over on the street," he said folding his arms in front of his chest.

"I asked for one jackass," I said, turning away from him to get the mugs from the microwave, dashing in some cinnamon and pushing it into his hands. "And fine, since you put it so bluntly, is it alright if I stay here tonight?"

"Yeah," he said, taking a sip of the warm milk and honey combination.

"Mind if I take a shower? Being covered in blood isn't the attractive look I was going for when I came here."

"No, it's pretty sexy."

'_Oh God, is he being serious or sarcastic? Dammit! I can't tell!'_ I thought, drinking the milk fast enough to get the hell out of the awkward situation that he put us in. _'Dammit Shizuo! We're tense enough around each other as is!'_

"I'm gonna…I'm gonna go take that shower now," I said, placing the mug inside the sink and walking past him quickly, heading to the bathroom. As soon as I closed the door I shed my clothes, leaving them in a neat pile on the tile floor of the bathroom before stepping in. when I turned the shower on, I started banging my head on the wall of the shower, wondering what the hell I was doing.

_DRRR!_

"Shizuo, what is this?"

"What's it look like? It's a bed, so shut up and go to sleep."

"I know it's a bed, but why are we both in it?"

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor, and it's my bed. Now shut up and go to sleep."

"First you make me wear your clothes, and then you make me sleep next to you. You're an uncomfortable person Shizuo," I muttered, raising the blanket above my head

"You're the one who came here to feel comfortable, if you don't like it leave."

"I can't. You drowned my bra and panties with the rest of my clothes."

"I didn't see them, and will you stop saying that word already!"

"Fine…I'm not going to be able to see you again after tonight Shizuo," I said suddenly, pulling the blanket down to look over at him. He looked over his shoulder at me.

"Why? 'Cause I drowned your clothes?"

"No, I'm going on a mini vacation with Colm and Kichiro up to Hokkaido. Gonna spend time with my family."

"That seems kind of sudden…Amai, how lon-"

"Shhh~ time to sleep Shizuo," I said, cutting him off. He grumbled a bit before giving up and turned back around. I smiled at his turned back and shut my eyes, focusing on the heat I could feel radiating off of him.

_DRRR!_

"Sorry for disturbing your sleep."

"It's fine. Are your clothes still wet?"

"A little damp, but nothing the sun can't cure; thanks for letting me borrow your shirt by the way. Oh! Before I forget, here's some of what I owe Tom." I took out my wallet and handed him the small amount inside.

"Why didn't you pay him last night?"

"He got my name wrong and it pissed me off," I said, smiling up at him as he opened the door. There was one thing I had to do yet before I went over to the college. I tapped him on his shoulder and gestured for him to bend down. He looked confused but obliged, leaning down a little until he was close to me. Taking this wonderful opportunity, I slid my hands to his face and held him there, closing the distance between us. I saw his eyes go wide with surprise when I touched his lips to mine and pressed them there for a few seconds, my eyes sliding shut on his. When I pulled away he slowly straightened, a very red blush coloring his face as he looked down at me, his surprised expression still in place.

"Well, I gotta go," I said, walking out of the apartment and into the hallway.

"Wait! What was that?!" he exclaimed, snapping out of his shocked state to look at me.

"I believe it's called a kiss. You know, the thing where two people press their lips together," I explained, looking over at him before walking down the hallway.

"Yeah but…_Wh-Why did you do that?!"_

"Here's two truths and a lie. I wanted to. I like you. I did it to make you as uncomfortable as I felt last night," I replied, walking backwards until I got to the stairs.

"Which one is the lie?"

"You'll have to wait until I get back from Hokkaido to find out~" I sang happily as I walked down stairs.

_DRRR!_

'_When was the last time I was here? Oh! Right, when I broke my hand and was insulted by a third-rate professor,'_ I thought, walking through the campus. _'Can't believe this guy dares to have class on a Sunday. What, like students don't have lives to live and hangovers to get over?'_ I thought annoyed. After I'd left Shizuo's, I'd texted Colm, asking where he and Kichiro were. He texted back that they were both in class for a group project, and that if I was coming to get them, I shouldn't do what I did last time. I promised, but only because I was going to do something completely different. I took a small breath in as I stood before the double doors, tucking my hands into my pockets and raising my leg. My ankle hurt a little, what with having to support my weight, but I couldn't use it to do what I was about to do.

I brought my foot forward quickly, kicking in the center of the doors and flinging them both forward. They bounced against the walls and caused several of the people inside to cringe and cover their ears. They were all in groups, the people inside, and a single person was standing amidst the groups as he traveled back and forth between each one. Hebizawa-sensei, my arch nemesis for today.

"What up lawyer student bitches!" I grinned cockily, walking down the steps towards my red headed brothers in their own little group.

"Now see here young lady! This is a place of great education, fit only for students that wish to not waste their life in a small, menial job! I request that you take yourself elsewhere," the old man said. I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears as he stopped before me, his face red with anger.

"Sir, you fail to see that I don't give a rat's tiny ass. I am here for my brothers for a mini vacation back to Hokkaido, and will leave promptly with them now if you please," I said, steeping around him and walking the rest of the way to my brothers.

"Colm, Kichiro, I require your services and your presence for the next two weeks," I said carrying a business like tone.

"Why do you need our presence?" they said in unison. Whether they did so to piss me off or my accident, I really didn't care at the moment.

"Patrick mailed me to bring you two with me the next time I came to visit, which happens to be today. So pack your bags, say goodbye to your friends, and let's get the hell out of here."

They looked at each other, a question on both of their faces that hinted towards my suddenness before they turned back to me. "Sure, but why do you need our services?"

"I'll tell you when we get outside. Way too many people around," I whispered, looking around at the confused students. They seemed to understand at least and made quick plans with their other group members to stay in touch via e-mail. The only person that had a problem with my plan and theirs was the man seething behind me.

"These two students will not be going anywhere with the likes of you, even if they are your brothers Miss Tachibana," he said coldly, placing a hand on my shoulder in a steel grip.

"Our mother is dying of lung cancer and has a minimum of two months left to live. These next two weeks might be the only chance to see all of her children together again. Do you really want to take that away from a dying woman?" I asked point-blank. Honestly I didn't want to play that card, but he gave me no choice edgewise. Guy was as frigid and stuck up as a Popsicle.

"Do you take me for a fool?"

"Do you want a serious answer?"

"What would your mother say if she knew you were spreading such outrageous lies?" he asked annoyed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Our mother really does have lung cancer, Mr. Hebizawa. She had to have surgery a few years ago, but it came back," Colm said from behind me as he gathered his notes and books, not bothering to look him in the eye as he spoke. The respect he normally showed to his teachers gone.

"We'd appreciate it if you didn't assume so casually what our mother would think of her only daughter. And that our little sister would lie about something so serious. Come on Amai, we're blowing this Popsicle stand," Kichiro said, stuffing loose papers into his backpack and walking out of the aisle of seats and up the stairs ahead of me, Colm following closely behind. I debated in my mind flipping him off, but decided against it when I saw his face. With a final taunting wave I shut the door on them and took my place between Colm and Kichiro, hooking my arms in theirs and letting them lead me to their dorm.

"That was nice of you guys to stick by me," I commented as they helped me walk up the flight of stairs.

"Family sticks together, even against people with power," Kichiro said, letting go of my arm to unlock the door.

"The last time you said that was when we all went to that school picnic and twenty minutes in we started throwing desserts at my fifth grade classmates," I remarked, letting go of Colm and walking into their dorm room.

"Oh yeah, that was fun," laughed Kichiro as he started stuffing shirts and pants into his already stuffed backpack.

"You know, the only reason the Mikage's don't talk to us anymore is because you stuffed a cheese cake down their son's pants," berated Colm as he neatly tucked his clothes inside his satchel.

"He started it when he kept running after me and pulling my hair. 'Catch a leprechaun, get their luck' my ass," I muttered as I leaned against the closed door and looked around their room. Their polar opposite room was another of the few qualities my family used to tell them apart. One half messy, one half clean, it was like there was an invisible wall going down the center of the room.

"Shut up Colm, I saw you rubbing a cupcake in Misaki-chan's hair when we were there," Kichiro said, throwing a bundle of socks at Colm.

"Only because she confused me with you and called me a man-whore and stomped on my foot."

"So mature now, but so immature when you were a first year in middle school. What will Nanako-chan think?" Kichiro said melodramatically, feigning concern.

"Guys, leave the cat fight for home, I'm dealing with a legal issue right now," I interrupted after Colm threw the socks back at Kichiro's head.

"What's the issue?" they asked in unison, diverting their attention to me.

"I might have killed someone."

"What do you mean?" Colm asked hesitantly.

"I mean I punched someone a lot, stopped when their blood was all over me and their face, and left them there."

"Was he breathing?" Kichiro asked, folding his arms across his chest as he took on a slightly uncharacteristic serious tone.

"Yeah, he was."

"Then how do you know you killed him?" Colm asked.

"I saw a cop car outside my old apartment building when I went to change clothes this morning before I came here."

"Wait, so you're wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" Kichiro asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Not totally, I borrowed the shirt because mine was stained with blood a little bit," I answered, not liking where this conversation was going.

"Pants too?" Colm inquired.

I tugged on the pocket of my pants, illustrating they were mine. "No, these are my pan-" I started, when the fabric became loose and I was suddenly holding up a pair of panties I had pulled free from my pocket.

"Are those your…" Kichiro started before trailing off. I nodded mutely, stuffing them slowly back in my pocket before pulling down the waistband of my pants, revealing the dark blue boxers underneath.

"Are those…men's underwear?" Colm asked, looking about five seconds from either going pale or bursting out laughing. Maybe if I played the next four seconds right, I could evade the worst.

"I think I forgot to give Shizuo back his underwear," I said, my mouth saying the worst thing possible. _'Stupid mouth can't listen to directions,'_ I thought in the brief milliseconds before my brothers burst out laughing.

"Amai and Shizuo~ sitting in a tree~" they sang in between bursts of laughter.

"I already kissed him this morning; I don't need to hear it again," I shouted, trying to get them to stop laughing at me.

"WHAT?!" they shouted in unison.

'_At least that stopped their laughter,'_ I thought sullenly.


	25. Chapter 25: Last Day Before Vay-Kay

**Witchblade? Heard the name in passing, but I've never seen it. Name sounds interesting though. Anyway, I haven't done a disclaimer since the third chapter or so, so here it is. Any character you're never heard of in **_**Durarara!**_**, including this here plot, is mine. Otherwise everything else belongs to ****Ryohgo Narita****.**

"Why were you morons laughing? Aren't you supposed to be in shock when you hear your little sister possibly slept with someone?"

"We assumed that you were trying to by funny," Kichiro said while folding his arms behind his head

"But when you said you kissed him in all seriousness, we were shocked," Colm finished, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, well I didn't sleep with him. You know…in that way. I just slept next to him. Let that be a load off your minds," I said, hooking my arms around Colm's and Kichiro's as we walked towards the train station. "Why are you so interested in my personal life anyway? I don't ask about yours."

"You wouldn't want to ask him about his anyway. It's a string of one night stands and booty calls. Don't you ever get tired of endless women and just want to be with one?" Colm asked, reprimanding Kichiro.

"You don't think I'm tired of it? I haven't slept with anyone in the last two weeks because all those girls are the same," Kichiro said defensively. Suddenly I felt like I was in the middle of something: two arguing twins, a position I hated to be in.

"Then why don't you go out with Misa-san? I know you like her," Colm argued.

'_If this is my punishment for teasing Shizuo, I just want to say I'm _really _sorry and will take any situation that isn't this!'_ I thought desperately, looking around for something to distract them.

"You think I haven't tried? Every time I try talking to her, she calls me a man-whore!" complained Kichiro.

"Amai-chan!" Who was that?

"Can't blame her," Colm muttered, looking away innocently when Kichiro glared at him.

"Amai-chan! Over here!" Was that Shinra?

"I don't want to hear that from someone who's still a virgin!" shouted Kichiro, pulling me to a halt, causing Colm to stop too.

"Amai-chan! It's me! Shinra! I'm here with Celty!" he shouted, hopping up and down while waving his arms, trying to get the attention I had already given him. I watched with wide eyes as Celty and him approached us. Several people on the sidewalk gasped at the appearance of the Black Rider, the urban legend herself. The commotion caused Colm and Kichiro to stop bickering mindlessly as well and watch with identical quizzical expressions as they stood before me. On the outside I was smiling at the two of them, while on the inside I was freaking out.

"Kishitani-san, Celty, what a nice surprise! What you guys doing here?" I asked, sweating bullets.

"Amai, you know the Black Rider?" Colm asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, we, umm, met a while ago," I answered before turning back towards Shinra, "What are you guys doing?"

"What a coincidence to meet you here! We were on our way to Russia Sushi for some lunch. Do you and your brothers want to join us?" Shinra said all smiles.

"No, we have a train to catch," I said, trying to wave him off.

"Don't worry, I bet the train won't leave for another hour, maybe more. Come on, we haven't spent any time together! Please? My treat," Shinra said, pleading a little.

I felt an ominous presence behind me, and I didn't have to turn around to know who it was emanating from.

"Your treat?" Kichiro asked, a malicious smile spreading across his face.

"We accept," Colm said, looking like a Cheshire Cat.

My brothers, the only two people I know who would take a person's generosity and rub it in their nose. I would have declined the offer once again, but the prospect of free food won over my logic that the two most superstitious people in my family would be dining with a Dullahan.

I pulled Celty aside, seeing as how Colm and Kichiro had kidnapped Shinra and were currently 'leading' him down the street towards the awkwardly shaped building.

"Celty, I need you to keep a really low profile. You remember how I reacted when I found out you were a, umm, Dullahan?" She nodded her helmet yes.

"I'm known as the skeptical one. Those two guys currently punishing Kishitani-san for his generosity are the most superstitious people in my family. They believe in Dullahan's like I believe Kishitani-san is a pervert. Which is very, very much. So please do me this one favor," I begged, putting my hands together and bowing down very low. I felt a tap on my shoulder less than a second later and looked up to see Celty typing away on her PDA.

**[I understand, so could you please not bow? It makes me feel uncomfortable.]**

"Thank you," I responded, straightening up before turning to walk to the restaurant. I felt another tap on my shoulder and turned again to see Celty holding out her PDA towards me.

**[By the way, Shizuo called Shinra this morning. Did something happen between you two?]**

"Not that I can think of at this current moment in time," I said pathetically, vaguely covering my lie. "Did you guys come out here to find me for him?" I asked, a little suspicious of Shinra's 'coincidence'.

Celty nodded her helmet before showing me her PDA. **[He asked Shinra and me to find you and ask about this morning.]** My face scrunched up in displeasure. _'Cheater,' _I thought, looking behind me at the restaurant.

"Please tell Shizuo when you see him that he has to wait like a good little boy. Now, if you excuse me, I have to punish Kishitani-san for going along with his plan…more so than my brothers are doing right now," I said, leaving Celty to enter the restaurant. Before I had taken two steps, I felt a light tap on my shoulder, when I turned around, I saw her PDA in my face again.

**[Why did you kiss him? Do you like him? I promise I won't tell him.]** I felt my face blush at the unexpectedness of it and turned to face her fully.

"I don't dislike him if that's what you're asking," I said, trying to erase the blush I know she could clearly see…I think. "Just…let me take care of that when I come back, okay?" I said turning back around and heading towards the restaurant, the sound of a horse heard behind my back.

_DRRR!_

"It was so nice of Doctor-san to treat us to a meal," Colm said happily, licking his lips in delight.

"Too bad he has to stay there and wash dishes for a while," Kichiro said, grinning.

"The next time I see him, I'm going to punch him in his lying throat," I said, clearly irritated. I looked towards the clock once again, scowled at it, and looked back at the schedule board.

"It's not like he knew it would leave early, Amai," Colm said, trying to get my temper down.

"It didn't leave early, it left on time. Kishitani-san just wasted our time with pointless chit-chat," I argued, glaring up at him.

"Look, the next train will be here in a few hours, and from there we'll be stuck together for thirteen hours, might as well simmer down and make this endeavor enjoyable. Actually, you could go home and pack while we wait here. Not like you have anything better to do," Kichiro said, leaning back on the bench we sat on, getting comfortable for a long wait. I pursed my lips before standing up, deciding his plan was better than mine.

"I'll be back in an hour or two. If I'm not here when the train leaves, feel free to scalp my ticket," I said, handing them the small ticket stub before walking outside and squinting at the sunlight.

_DRRR!_

'_When did Taka-chan get a new door? And a new lock? Good thing I left my tools in my old apartment,'_ I thought, listening to the inside mechanism before losing my hold in the lock. _'Shit, now I need to start over,'_ I thought, repositioning the pick and wrench inside the key hole. When the pick slipped a second time, I sat back on my heels and looked at my kit, took out a different shaped pick and went back to work. When the lock clicked and the handle turned for me, I smiled in triumph, feeling once again glad that Patrick had taught me how to pick locks.

'_To think my guidance counselor said my skills wouldn't be useful in the real world,'_ I thought coolly, walking across the small living room, momentarily stopping at Moo-Moo's temporary box house and looking in at the nursing kittens.

"Aww~ You three puff-balls look just like the cat that knocked-up your mother~" I cooed at them, lightly stroking the fur of the one blond kitten that arched his back and hissed a little at me. "I think I'll call you Shizu-chan, just 'cause you're so cwanky," I cooed at him before turning away from the box at the sound of my name being said in a hushed tone from the bedroom door.

"Amai, what are you doing here?" Taka-chan asked, closing the door behind him quietly before walking over to where I sat on the couch and sitting down awkwardly.

"I live here temporarily, I thought you knew that," I said, picking up a small, tan colored kitten and rubbing its fluffy fur against my cheek.

"I know that, I meant how did you get in? I got a new lock yesterday, and you don't have a key," he clarified, holding out his hand for the small kitten in my hand. I placed the small kitten in his hand and watched as he stroked the little kitten's fur, making him purr.

"I have a lock picking kit, learned the trade from my brother Patrick," I said, grinning as I showed him the black case full of metal picks and tension wrenches.

"What does your brother do for a living? Break into electronic stores?" he asked, looking a little surprised.

"No, he's a public accountant," I answered, "speaking of, I need to pack. I'm going on a mini vacation back home."

"How'd you get Akira-san to say yes to that? You've been working for less than two weeks. And what about that other job, the bakery one?" he said, putting the kitten back in the box, following me to his bedroom where I had stashed all my clothes.

"Told him I got assaulted on the way home from work and he gave me the two weeks off under the assumption that I'm getting physiological help. And I just told Miss Yuumi I was going on a much needed vacation," I answered, placing a hand on the door, only to have him block it.

"What do you mean assaulted?! Who was it? Are you all right?! Did you get hurt? Was that why you were gone all night? Was that why the police came by earlier?" he said, rambling towards the end.

"Yes, I was assaulted. Yes I am alright. And, no, that was not why I was out all night. I spent the night over at Shizuo's," I answered, trying to get Taka-chan to unblock the door.

"What do you mean you spent the night? Oh…my…GOD! Did he take advantage of you in your vulnerable state?!" he exclaimed looking really concerned.

"Yeah right, that virgin wouldn't know how to take advantage if I gave it to him. And also, back up drama queen. The only thing that happened last night was that we slept in the same bed, nothing more and nothing less. And also, by the smell you're giving off, it looks like the one who got laid last night was you," I said, taking a step back and waving a hand in front of my face to clear the air around me from the sex smell he emitted. For the first time since I've known him, I saw a light red blush spread across his face, making me smile in realization that Taka-chan had actually brought someone home that made it to the next day. "Taka-chan, I'm so happy for you! Who is it? Masaki-san? Mikimoto-san?" I asked listing off the names of guys I knew Taka-chan had had strong feeling for as I reached around him and opened the door, taking advantage of his shy state.

As I looked inside to see who it was, I pursed my lips to keep from giggling hysterically at the sight before me: a large bear-like man stripped naked standing before me. Ordinarily, this sight would have had me running from the room, but seeing Naoki standing there in all his naked glory, purple hickeys covering his neck and, if I could see properly, bite marks on his butt was I sight I couldn't help but smile and laugh at. "So…Naoki-san, I bet you're more of a grower, not a shower depending on the way Taka-chan was sitting earlier," was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

"Please, Amai! Don't be so crass and…truthful," Taka-chan said, leaning against the door frame and fanning his face in an appreciative manner as he looked up and down Naoki's figure as he stumbled to pull his pants on.

"You weren't so shy when you were asking about _my_ sex life before," I said, shielding my eyes as Naoki got dressed.

"That's different, you _need _get laid," he said.

"Hey! I've had sex with three different guys, not counting the first one," I said.

"Why not the first one?" Naoki asked, taking my attention away from Taka-chan.

"Never the first one," I said darkly, looking at him menacingly, making him back away slowly from me in fright.

"That bad?" Taka-chan asked. I looked back at him before answering.

"Really bad," I said, before turning away from them both and stalking to the closet, pulling my clothes off of their hanger and stuffing them in a small backpack.

"Well, the first time is never good, especially for a small girl like you," commented Taka-chan. I rolled my eyes at his comment and unbuttoned the borrowed shirt, slipped on a shirt. I did the same with the pants, pulling on a pair of jeans and leaving the dress pants in a neat, folded pile in the closet. Unlike my other clothes, I folded Shizuo's shirt and placed it inside my backpack. There was no special reason; I just had no way of getting it back to Shizuo in the forty minutes I had left to walk back to the train station and board the train before my brothers sold my ticket.

"See ya, Taka-chan. Don't break him Naomi-san," I said quickly, pulling my violin case and my hat from the top shelf of the closet and edging past Taka-chan to the front door.

"Wait! Who was the person that assaulted you?!" Taka-chan asked, grabbing my arm to keep me from leaving.

"It shouldn't be that hard to figure out. Who is the one person that kept trying to molest me these past few years?" I asked, looking at him dully.

"That bastard, he didn't!" exclaimed Taka-chan.

"He did! That's why I beat him into a state of unconsciousness," I explained, turning to him fully, no longer trying to get out of the apartment.

"No kidding, the police came by earlier to drop him off. Thought he got in a bar brawl by the looks of him."

"Do they have any leads? Did the pervert say anything?" I asked, partially concerned for my own well being. By this time Naoki had either become bored with us or found no place in our conversation, as he was currently playing with the little blind, tan-colored kitten.

"Not much to go on since he won't say anything coherent."

"Wait, if you knew all that, why did you ask me who attacked me last night? Wouldn't it have been obvious?"

"How was I supposed to know you would get molested by Hotaka-san again?!" he exclaimed, clearly exasperated.

"Well, in case he does talk, can you cover for me? We both know I have a bad reputation and they'll probably take the opinion of the beat-up guy," I said while slipping my fedora over my head.

"I'm behind you all the way on this one, but what's your alibi?" he asked, putting his hands on his slender, lady hips.

"If they ask, tell them that I spent the night over at Shizuo's place and I have the underwear to prove it," I said bluntly, hooking my thumb into the waistband of my jeans and pulling them down enough to display the dark blue boxers covering my ass underneath. How he missed that important piece of evidence when I was changing, would be the larger-than-life man-candy standing next to me trying to pull a too tight shirt over his upper body. He didn't laugh like my jackass brothers, he only smirked.

"All that's left is one loose end," I said, looking over Taka-chan's shoulder at the muscle man, otherwise known as Naoki-san. Taka-chan looked as well and upon feeling our gazes on him, Naoki-san raised his head before lowering his eyes to the ground, unsure of himself.

"I don't know. I don't like withholding evidence from the police," he said, rubbing the little kitten's fur between his fingers.

"What if I give you something to keep your mouth shut," Taka-chan said, a little annoyed at the muscle man's weak personality.

"You already gave him back door. What else could you give him?" I asked, making Taka-chan blush at the comment. I looked back at Naoki-san, watching as he fawned over the small, week-old kitten. Suddenly I got an idea.

"I'll give you the kitten if you keep quiet."

"Re-really?!" he exclaimed, clearly surprised.

"Yeah, but you have to wait seven weeks until he can be separated from Moo-Moo," I said, before being tackled to the ground be the muscle man.

"Deal!" he exclaimed, hugging me close.

"Taka-chan, help! I don't care if _you're_ under him, but_ I_ don't want to be!" I gasped, waving my arms around for help.

_DRRR!_

I let the lobby door of the apartment building close behind me before stretching my arms above my head, getting out the kinks in my back that Naoki-san had left when he tackled me. I let my free arm fall back to my side and let my left arm swing down in a sort of pendulum motion.

"Feeling sore are we Amai-chan?" said a creepily familiar voice. I jumped at the sudden sound, turning to look at the black haired man leaning against the brick wall of the decrepit building.

"To be honest, a little," I responded, not at all surprised by the note of false sincerity I heard in his voice.

"Understandable given the night you've had," he said, pushing off of the wall to walk beside me as I walked away from, trying but failing to ignore him.

"How would you know?" I asked, instantly regretting it as soon as I said it. Of course this guy would know he basically gets paid to know everything circulating around here.

"I know you were assaulted by one Mitsukanei Hotaka, and I know you came out victorious," he said, looking at me with that stupid smirk of his. "And no, I won't rat you out to the police, frankly I see no worth in having my precious pawn put behind bars for a few months," he said in a bored tone of voice.

"Thanks for your cooperation dear sir," I said a little snidely.

He smirked at my slightly sarcastic remark before continuing his train of thought. "I also know you spent the night with one Heiwajima Shizuo. Care to elaborate?"

"Not really since you'll probably hear it through word of mouth anyway. Care to explain why you know about Chikan-san attacking me?" I asked, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.

He smiled an all-knowing smile, "Because I'm the one who told him where you worked Amai-chan. It wasn't easy getting into his inebriated mind, but I convinced him to take out his frustration on you," he said before ducking out of the way of my fist that was once on a collision course to his face. When my fist swiped at the air in front of his face, I changed its directive and opened my hand to close around his jacket, shoving him into a wall and holding him there. The sad, almost infuriating part of it all was that he had a slightly excited grin on his face, like he enjoyed not seeing that part coming.

"You're a dick, you know that?" I spat at him, narrowing my eyes displeasingly at his smirking face.

"That's not a very nice thing to say Amai-chan," Izaya said, looking as at ease as a house cat lying in the sun.

"According to the whole city, I'm not a "very nice" person to begin with," I responded, pushing my fist further into his chest. "Why did you do that anyway?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"Only to see how my dear piece would play. For you it could have gone either way. You could have played the cat, and pounced on her prey. Or, if you wanted to disappoint me, you could have played the mouse and let them "play" with you, so to speak," he said coolly, smoothly, like he had that whole speech planned out.

"You do realize that aiding and abetting a crime is illegal, right?" I asked, trying to read his eyes and see what the hell he was thinking.

"Then we'll have to do each other a favor to keep ourselves out of jail." Apparently he was thinking of screwing with me and my mind.

I let go of the furry edge of his coat and stalking away from him quickly down the street. Behind me I heard him laugh a little bit, and afterword heard footsteps following mine. After roughly five minutes of "follow the leader", I felt my frustration at him wane and fluctuate repeatedly, until I finally turned around and glared at him.

"If you want your testicles attached to your body, you won't say anything to piss me off," I bargained. Honestly, if he's going to follow me, he might as well make decent chit chat.

"Amai-chan, are you finally warming up to me?" he said, sort of skipping to my side.

"What did I say about pissing me off?" I said, setting my jaw and looking straight forward, not sparing a glance at the man next to me.

"You know, one would think you would freeze up in a situation so close to that traumatic event you experienced so many years ago," he said, blatantly ignoring my question, substituting instead a theory.

"Two things Orihara-san, one: it was years ago, so the event has been…almost repressed from my mind. And two: the only thing traumatic about that "event" was that he wasn't any good. It's not like he broke anything any way. Just my trust and respect in all teachers and, you know, the _law_," I answered, breaking my stare ahead to look at him out of the corner of my eye. He looked thoughtful, a hint of a smile or a smirk playing on his lips.

"Out of curiosity, where are you going anyway?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"Not that I should tell you, but since you'll find out anyway…I'm going on a trip back home with my brothers for two weeks. No doubt you know where, right?" I asked, mildly curious.

"The two natural red-heads, Colm and Kichiro Tachibana, over at the university, who would have thought two level-headed men like them would be related to a hot-head like you," he commented.

"Like you didn't already know," I grimaced, not liking how much he knew about my family. "This is my stop. Unless you plan on following me inside, feel free to walk away now, unless you want me to do something unexpected and push you onto the tracks," I said, not that I would. I didn't want to go to jail for murder.

"It's not unexpected if you tell me prior, Amai-chan," he responded. Like a child I stuck out my tongue at him and turned to go down the stairs to the meet my brothers. Before I took the first step down, I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, roughly keeping me in place and as a trail of warm breathe flowed into my ear.

"Have a safe trip, Amai-chan," he whispered. His breath was warm. His words sounded warm. But his voice was ice cold. I didn't know what to think, so I didn't spare it another thought, other than the fact that he wanted me, his "pawn", to keep safe for him to test and play with as he pleased. Actually that was exactly what I thought.

I left him soon after he had walked away into the ever flowing crowd, walking down the stairs and immediately finding my tall, red-head brothers amidst the crowd as they shuffled forward at a snail's pace, looking this way and that for their red-headed little sister. When they finally spotted me, they stopped moving altogether, making several people behind them grown in protest as they waved to me. I soon joined them, smiling up at them as I showed them the shiny, wooded surface of my violin case. Their faces brightened in expectation for the music they would hear me play, and as we sat down in a row, with me in between the two of them, they animatedly chattered about what things they would, or what people they should see, or what music I should play when we arrived home. I listened to them for a bit, before letting their voices turn into background noise as I looked across at the window beside Colm, feeling the breath catch in my throat at the too familiar face and the too familiar blond hair that stuck out above the crowd. I was in shock. Why was he here? He couldn't have followed me; I doubt he would have kept his cool when Izaya was within killing range. Then…was he waiting here for me? I felt that my suspicions were confirmed when he lifted his hand and waved to me. Slightly splayed fingers and a twitch of his hand that just about amounted to a good bye wave. I lifted my own despite the utter confusion this caused my brothers, and moved my hand in my own form mf good bye, a simple, quick movement of my stuck-together fingers from one side to the other. He acknowledged this with a nod of his head before moving his hand to the bridge of his nose, self consciously readjusting his glasses before looking up at me as the train started to move. On a spur of the moment whim, I lifted myself out of the seat, across Colm and almost violently moved the window out of my way, sticking my head out and yelling to him over the noise of the people, the train, and the everyday life.

"I'll be back in two weeks, so you better not forget about me or I'll come back just to kick your ass!" a lot of the people in and outside of the train simply looked or glared at me. But not Shizuo. No, he smirked and nodded his head once more, another understanding. I smiled back at him before pulling my head back inside the train and locking the window once more, settling in for the long ride ahead of me.

Out of the list of abnormal things to happen today; the kiss with Shizuo, me winning a fight against the evil professor, telling my brothers _about_ the kiss with Shizuo, the run in with a Dullahan and her fan boy, walking in on Taka-chan's possibly-not-one-night-stand, the conversation with Izaya and Shizuo seeing me off, the only thing I found the most abnormal was the kiss with Shizuo. If I faced the facts, then all the other stuff was bound to happen, except for of course the conversation with Izaya since that in and of itself was a surprise, and that on some unconscious level, I knew I would see Shizuo one more time that day. But really, what are my feeling for Shizuo? When I kissed him, it was only to mock him of his virgin status and make him uncomfortable and tease him for the two weeks until my eventual return. But seeing him see me off when I just about told him "I'm teasing you for the next two weeks, so suffer over what the hell might be going through my mind, and what my feeling for you might be"…it made me question what I actually _did_ feel for Shizuo. And now that I focus on it…I enjoyed it, even though it lasted a few seconds.


	26. Chapter 26: Difficulties

"Amai, we can't make it…go on without us," Kichiro said pathetically, leaning heavily against the lamp post, Colm on the other side of it, nearly falling asleep.

"Guys, come on! It's only sea sickness coupled with sleep deprivation," I said, right before yawning hugely. "Kazuhiro will be here in ten minutes, keep awake until then." _'Damn you grandpa for relocating to a place nowhere near Tokyo!'_ I thought bitterly, clinging to my last shreds of consciousness and sanity. It had been rough to say the least. Nine hours on a train, two hours on a bus to the port nearest home, and a rocky boat ride that made us throw up our breakfast wasn't exactly the best start to a vacation. The only good thing was I wasn't as tired as my brothers. Maybe the nights I worked at the club were finally doing me good.

"Hey! Tomboy Tachibana!" someone behind me called. I ignored it, mostly because it was a name I hadn't heard since high school, and frankly it pissed me off.

"Tomboy Tachibana! That's you, isn't it? God! I haven't seen you in ages!" they said, sounding excited for some reason. From what I could tell of my high school peers, they all hated my guts, except for the baseball team, and my two best, and only, friends. Unable to ignore my high school nickname, I turned my head, squinting, more so glaring, at the person who dared to call me that name.

"Who's the bastard that dares speak that name?!" I shouted as I looked around the dock area. When I found him, my eyes widened in shock and my face broke into a large smile as I stood up and propelled myself forward into the arms of the tall, skinny, ex-basketball playing brunette man.

"Yuki! I'm so happy to see you!" I shouted excitedly as he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me into the air in a crushing hug. Yuki was the best guy friend I could have ever had. Although maybe that's just the opinion of the girl he had got in a fight for back in grade school.

"Hey Amai, Who's that?" someone behind me asked. When Yuki let me down, I turned to my brothers excitedly and introduced them.

"Guys, you remember Yuki, don't you? My best friend from high school?" I said, looking back up at the brunette happily.

"The bisexual?" Colm asked, rubbing his temples tiredly.

"No, that's her other best friend and my girlfriend, Hikaru," Yuki corrected.

"All I'm hearing is a very lucky man," Kichiro said, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

"So…Amai, what brings you all the way to Hokkaido?" Yuki asked, both embarrassed and awkward about the situation he had been put in.

"Needed a break after the last few weeks I've had," I explained, "What about you? How are you and Hikaru doing? Anything special happening…?" I said grinning happily. Before he could answer, there was a blaring of a horn and a slamming of a door near us. I looked over to the car owner, before grinning stupidly at the red haired eighteen-year-old walking towards us, a cross between a smirk and a grimace on his face.

"Hiro-chan~ Thanks for coming to pick us up little brother." I said energetically as I rushed to meet him and hug him against me tightly. He hugged me back for a few seconds, laughing a bit before pushing me off of him.

"Okay, one, if you seriously think I did this out of the goodness of my heart, your wrong and you owe me gas money. And two, if my own sister can't even tell the difference between me and Kazuhiro, then you are seriously deranged." Besides appearance and personality, there was one other thing that set Carney and Kazuhiro apart: Carney had a lisp.

"Little bastard, you dyed your hair? What about Kazuhiro?"

"Same, dyed his black. Best thing we ever did, people keep getting confused and I love it!" he said, grinning a bit maliciously. While Kazuhiro was moody, sarcastic, and serious most of the time, with the exception of doing the occasional prank with Carney, Carney was his opposite. He was energetic, sarcastically insane, and loved getting into fights with people he felt deserved it. Which is why people, meaning everyone within a two hour radius, called him Carney "Carnage" Tachibana. "Oh, and Yuki, your brother is a douche and a tool. Tell him that for me would ya?" He also liked to insult various people, no matter the relation to our family. Really the only thing Kazuhiro and him have in common are that they love to torture and manipulate people. Personally I felt that they would make great interrogators. But with the job fields they were going into, they would be screwing people over one way or another.

"Hit on your girlfriend again?" Yuki asked.

"Nope, the dumbass keyed my car," Carney said.

"I'll see he gets the message," Yuki said a little exasperated.

"Hey, Yuki, I'll see you later, okay? My brothers are crashing and I haven't seen my parents in months."

"Yeah. Call me tomorrow so you, me, and Hikaru can hang out sometime," Yuki said, hugging me close to his stick-like frame. While Carney ushered, or more so pushed, Colm and Kichiro into the back of his red and black car, I waved one final time to Yuki before sliding in next to Carney in the passenger seat.

"You jealous?" he asked as he drove away from the curve and onto the road away from the docks.

"Of what?" I asked, looking back at the snoring duo in the backseat.

"You and Yuki used to date, and now he and your only girly-friend are shacking up together. Doesn't that burn just a little?" he asked, turning onto the road that led to the other road that led to home.

"A little, but I'm not going to start hating them because of that. And I'm not going to stop being friends with Hikaru 'cause of that either. I will if she keeps pestering me for that "favor" though," I responded, grimacing out the window.

"If you hate it so much, why not give in?"

"Three reasons, one: it'd be crossing the line between friends. Two: I don't want to. And three: frankly, I don't care if I'm the only girl she can ask for that type of thing," I stated, naming them off on my fingers.

"Prude."

"Delinquent."

"Tomboy."

"Dumbass Hoodlum."

"Why are you wearing men's boxers?"

"I retract all statements."

_DRRR!_

As Carney pulled up to the old farm house Colm and Kichiro slowly woke up, stretching out their limbs and got out of the car slowly, shutting the doors and trudging up to the house and going to their room. I stayed behind them, soaking in the atmosphere of the home I had grown up in. The worn dirt path leading up to the steps of the front porch. The large green pasture out back behind the barn, and the lovely black and white cows and calves grazing. The smell was nostalgic, that's for sure. The…'delightful' aroma of grass, mud and cow pies.

"Sis, come on. Dad's gonna get you either way, no use hiding out in the house now," Carney said, shutting his door and walking towards the barn. I followed behind him.

"Where's Sora?" I asked.

"It's one in the afternoon on a Monday, where do you think? He's at school, first day of high school. Let's hope, however unlikely, that the dick he was dating doesn't go there." With just about two high schools in the area, it was unlikely that he wouldn't since everyone basically stayed together from grade school up.

As Carney pulled the door of the barn open, I mentally preparing myself for the greeting I was sure to get.

When a stranger to the Tachibana household came to visit when we were growing up, they all saw the same thing in my father. A tall, burley Irishman with a close shaved beard and a slightly messy head of bright red hair, with piercing green eyes that could probably kill you with a single glare. When they talked to him they heard the same thing. A rough voice just barely understandable because of his thick accent, laced with threats and criticism to anyone who dared judge him, his wife, or his children. To me and my brothers, we heard roughly the same things everyone else heard, besides the accent since we had grown up with it, but in our case it was only out of love when he reprimanded us on our "bad behavior".

Although it had been a few months since I had last seen my father, he hadn't changed a bit. In the last twenty years however…there had not been much of a difference. His beard had grown longer and grayed in some area. His hair had dulled down from its once brilliant flame. His body structure…still intimidating to the foolish man who dared insult him. All-in-all it was his hair and face that had shown the most age. His eyes, however, had stayed the same brilliant green mine were. There was one thing I was sure of that would never change, and that was my father's enormously tall stature. While I hated being called a leprechaun by all my peers, I had no qualms about it when my father called me his-

"My Lucky Little Leprechaun! How's my wee baby girl doing?" he said excitedly, standing up from the stool he sat at next to one of the cows, and quickly crossed the hay strewn floor, picking my up from where I stood and brought me to him in a bear hug that nearly choked me.

"Dad! I can't breathe!" I gasped as he put me back down on the wood floor of the barn. I sucked in a couple breaths before attacking him with my own hug.

He laughed as I tried to squeeze him around his middle. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that wee one if you want to bust my seam." I smirked up at him before letting go. "Is that my hat you wear atop yer head?" he asked, snatching it off of my head to give it a thorough check. "Seems a bit worse for wear now, doesn't it?" he said, eyeing the multiple patched holes and tears. The only thing he didn't bother looking at was the two inch burn mark along the brim from when he wore it.

"It's still going strong, dad. Not a rip or tear that I can't mend," I responded, practically beaming up at him. We both meant the same thing, how I was doing.

"Aye it does, aye it does. Now! Where are these two boys a' mine that haven't dared shown their faces to their old father?" he said, slapping the hat back on my head as he headed back to the two story farm house.

"They're up stairs sleeping. It was a long trip, and they didn't get much sleep," I tried to explain, attempting to help my brothers.

"Nonsense, they have plenty of time to sleep," Kazuhiro argued, stepping away from the cow he was milking to input his opinion. Although it sounded more like he wanted to punish Colm and Kichiro for last Christmas when they embarrassed the hell out of him in front of his girlfriend.

"Exactly Kazuhiro, no time like the present to greet their old man," dad agreed, going past us to the farm house, Kazuhiro and Carney following behind him like excited, malicious puppies.

Unlike the rest of his children, excluding Patrick, Carney and Kazuhiro had no freckles, and had more color on their skin than the rest of us did, possibly from being in the sun all day. They shared our mother's traits. Carney got her straight black hair, and they both inherited her dark eyes. But while our mother was as short as I was, I had inherited her short stature, they were an inch or so taller than me. My only consolation for this gene pool was that Sora would be the only other person in this family that was as tall as me.

"Dad, seriously, it was a rough trip," I whispered towards him as we entered the house and trudged up stairs, dad leading the way as he practically stomped his way over to Colm and Kichiro's room, as if giving them a chance to escape before he pounced upon them. That much was made apparent when dad opened their door and we saw Kichiro straddling the window sill, Colm already outside, sitting on the outstretched limb of the budding tree beside their window.

"Ohh…hey dad. It was warm out so Colm, and I thought we should take a umm…a umm…"

"Walk," Colm said, filling in the blank.

"Yeah, a walk! So umm…we'll just be going now," Kichiro said, ducking his head under the window to try and escape again before dad walked quickly across the room and grabbed Kichiro's outstretched leg, pulling him back inside and onto the floor.

"The boy who runs and the boy who whines. What are you boys doing taking a 'walk' when you could be greeting the father who puts you through law school?" he said pulling Kichiro up and hugging him tightly.

"We would've sooner, but we value our oxygen too much," Colm responded, inching along the tree branch and climbing in through the window, approaching dad cautiously before he brought Colm into the same embrace he had given both me and Kichiro.

"Hey dad, how's, umm, mom doing?" I asked hesitantly, looking towards the door down the hall repeatedly.

He looked at me tiredly, a small smile on his face. "She's…she's doing as well as someone with her, umm, ailment can do. Let her rest for now, she'll wake up when she does," he responded. I pouted, but otherwise obliged.

"Carney, can you drive me to the grocery?" I asked him, looking at him expectantly.

"No, I wasted enough gas on you already," he answered immediately, "and how come you didn't ask to go before we left town?"

"Come on, I want to go buy some stuff to make a coffee and Irish cream cake," I said, appealing to dad's sweet tooth.

"Carney, listen to your sister and drive her to the store," he said, giving us his full attention, well, almost full since he was holding Kichiro in a head lock.

"Tch, fine. But you owe me gas money and a cinnamon bun cake," he said sulkily, turning away from us and going down stairs.

"You guys have been dessert starved, haven't you," I commented upon hearing Carney's unusual request.

"Aye, a daughter several hours away, and an in-law who burns the rolls. Breaks a man's heart it does," dad responded sadly, letting go of Kichiro's head.

"Anymore requests before I leave?" I said, looking at the three remaining brothers as they shook their heads no. I turned then and went down stairs, going to the kitchen to look through the cupboards and the fridge to figure out what I needed to get. "Dad, why are there buckets of blood pudding in the fridge?" I shouted up to him while he rough housed with his missing sons.

"It's the blood pudding Sora didn't eat while he was gone. Don't eat it, it's his punishment," he called down after a brief thump was heard, followed immediately by a cry of pain. "Margaret, get some bandages and alcohol while you're gone, we're going to need it."

"Not just medical supplies they're going to need," I muttered to myself as I looked inside the fridge at the bare emptiness inside, aside from the plates of blood pudding. "Dad, why do you insist on giving us stomach cramps?" I muttered once again to myself. Besides Patrick and Kazuhiro, the rest of us had weak stomachs for the food stuff. After writing down a quick list of what I would need, I headed out the door and got in Carney's car.

_DRRR!_

The endless chatter of mindless students filled the air as Carney drove closer and closer to the school gates, stepping on the brake and cursing out random students as they walked into the road mindlessly. I looked at the looming two-story building and stared blankly at it. It was three years of swearing, rumors, bitches and perverted boys all rolled into a crappy, underrated school.

"Can't believe kids these days, when I was in high-school-"

"You were in high school less than a month ago. Stop acting and talking like a crotchety old man," I said, interrupting his complaining. "Park up there so he'll see us straight away."

"You mean directly in front of the gate?"

"What part of "up there" do you not understand?" I asked him, practically bouncing in my seat as he parked the car and watched with me for Sora. As time wore on and there was no sign of him, our patience grew thin and Carney grew antsier by the minute.

"Where the hell is he? It's been twenty minutes," complained Carney, folding his arms across the steering wheel.

"I'll get out and look for him. Stay here, and if I'm not back in five minutes…don't leave me here by myself as revenge," I said, opening the door and letting it close behind me while I walked over to the gate. I didn't have to walk too far into the school grounds to see Sora immediately. He must have been twenty or thirty feet away me his back to the brick wall, with three boys in front of him. At first when I started walking over to them and saw the left most one punch his shoulder, I thought '_Hey, maybe it's one of those friendly punches in the arm_'. When I saw the right most one push his shoulder, and made him stumble back a bit, I grew more concerned and started to walk quicker, less than fifteen feet away from them. When the boy in the middle shoved him back against the wall roughly, making his head bounce back against the brick, I lost any self control I had then and ran full out towards them. Like the time with Shizuo, I did not stop, nor did I rethink this decision to plow right into them and knock them sons a' bitches to the ground, because one: I knew for a fact they wouldn't feel like a brick wall, and two: they were hurting my baby brother.

So when I rammed into them, they were surprised to say the least, and when I landed on top of them, I took special care not to give them the opportunity to get up until I either had answers, or I had wailed on them.

"Hey Bitch! What the hell are you doing?!" the one who had the bad luck of being on the ground said.

"Yeah! What the hell did we do to you?!" he one closest to me said.

"Don't bother guys. That's "Tomboy Tachibana". The little faggots big sister," answered the one in the middle.

"If you know me, then you shouldn't be calling Sora names, or bad things could happen," I said, smiling down at them maliciously.

"What are ya gonna do bitch?" one of them asked. Before I could answer them, another voice caught all of our attention.

"Well, she could knee you in the groin with a metal bat. Or tie you up and hang you upside down from a nearby lamppost. Or she could spray paint your balls and wiener blue, and put a sign up that you three have blue balls for the hottest teacher in school. Although that was when she didn't have that much of an imagination. Just think of the things she could do now!" Carney said excitedly, smirking maliciously at us as he lifted Sora up of the ground and put him protectively behind him.

"Oh God, it's Carney "Carnage" Tachibana," muttered one of them in awe. What the hell, I did things as bad as he did, and I didn't even have that kind of introduction for my epithet.

"What are you guys going to do? You're adults, you can't beat us up, it's against the law," one of them said pathetically.

"No, but I know plenty of third-years this year that would do anything for me. Plus, I'm pretty sure Amai doesn't care if this goes on her record," Carney said, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet. I dusted myself off as they slowly, and awkwardly, got to their feet. While I was sure that Carney would give them one last threat before he let them go, he didn't get that chance, in fact, none of us got a chance to talk before an eerily familiar voice called out to us.

"Now what would you six, fine young people be doing here after school? Certainly not to rough house, I hope," said a deep, pretentious voice that I now recognized as Suzuki-sensei. I looked over to him before becoming shocked with his appearance. The eight years since he had raped me really took a toll on him. Wire gray hair covering his head, frown lines etched into his forehead, his physic looked the same, but overall, he looked completely different from the thirty-something, deep brunette teacher I had once known in my second year of high school. The only thing that kicked me in the ass was that he still held that regal-ness and smoothness he had possessed way back when. Instead of showing my discontent, I voiced it instead.

"Age really kicked you in the balls huh? Suzuki-sensei," I said snidely, folding my arms across my chest self-consciously.

"Still using aggressive behavior to solve your problems I see Amai-san. Boys, why don't you head on home while I talk to Miss Tachibana about breaking the law. Tachibana-san, please wait with Tachibana-kun outside of the gate, Miss Tachibana will be with you in a moment." Like the bitches they are, the three boys high-tailed it off the school grounds, and Carney, with reluctance, wrapped his arm around Sora's shoulders and headed towards the gate. When they were well out of ear shot, Suzuki-sensei began to speak.

"Amai-san, it's been quite a while, hasn't it?" he said, attempting to make small talk.

"A while since the last day of my high school career? Or a while since the day you raped me on the floor of the class room when you kept me there after detention under the guise of "talking about punishment for my bad behavior"…which I now realize is a euphemism from any given porno," I said sternly, losing my edge a bit when I realized the euphemism I had missed beforehand.

"You're not still angry about that, are you? You were screaming for more, I heard you, if you hadn't gone home, you would've been begging for it."

"I was screaming for help, perverted teacher from any given porno. I should've gone to the police instead of going home, not just to have you arrested for rape, but also for having a bad technique," I said disgustingly.

"I didn't take your virginity, we both know that. And if you want a second round, you just need t-" I didn't give him a chance to finish as I punched him in his face. Technically I hit his nose, but it _is_ part of his face. I soaked in the rush of pleasure, the only pleasure I had ever felt from this man, I got from feeling his nose break under my fist and the rush of blood that coated my knuckles before the warm feeling fell away from my fist and dropped hard to the ground.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," I told him, smiling triumphantly at him as he slowly got to his feet, only to drop to his hands and knees before getting to his feet again. "Oh Shit," I said, turning around quickly and flat out running back to the school gates and into Carney's car as it sat idling. Without pausing I opened and slammed the door behind me quickly telling Carney to "floor it".

"Hey! Don't get blood on the interior. You know how hard it is to get out?" Carney complained, slowly putting the car in reverse.

"Carney, floor it! I just punched a teacher, and I might have broken his nose," I said quickly as Suzuki-sensei ran ever closer, one hand clad tightly over his bloody nose.

"_Wow _you did a number on him. 'Kay, let's hit the road them before bleeds all over my car," Carney laughed, pulling away from the curb and driving quickly down the road and away from mad as hell teacher currently fuming by the side of the road.

After we had driven out of the city, Carney finally asked the question I bet both of them were dying to ask.

"So, any good reason for punching your old teacher in the face?"

"Pissed me off with his pretentious talking, so I threw him one," I answered, looking at him from the corner of my eye.

"Hmm, makes sense. Even when I had as a teacher, all I wanted was to punch his lights out," Carney commented.

"Oh, hey, Sora! Good news! Tonight, we feast!" I said, turning around in my seat to look at Sora.

"No more blood pudding?" he asked hopefully.

"Yup! Tonight we eat duck!" I said, watching as the smile drained from his face. "Sorry kiddo, it was the only type of meat they had in the cheap-ass store Carey drove me to," I explained, glaring a bit at Carney.

"But Amai! You know I don't eat birds!" he argued.

"Guys," Carney said, but we ignored him, choosing instead to continue our conversation.

"It's that or blood pudding, make your choice," I said, maybe a bit too unemotionally since he looked on the verge of tears.

"Guys," Carney said again, this time more firmly.

"But Amai~" Sora whined.

"_Guys!_" Carney shouted.

"What?" I asked a little annoyed at his attitude.

"Look," he said, pointing out the windshield at the ambulance currently parked in front of our house, and the man clad in blue talking to our solemn father as he nodded his head slowly.

"Oh God…did she…" I asked, not finishing my sentence for fear of what might actually be true.

"Mom's been having trouble breathing lately; this is the second time in four days that we had to call an ambulance. They're probably talking about inserting a breathing tube," Carney told me as we pulled up to the house and parked next to the ambulance, watching silently as one of the two paramedics wheeled an oxygen tank into the house, the second man following soon after with a second tank after speaking to our father.

We all got out of the car silently and approached the house, groceries left behind in the trunk of the car as we walked up to our father and asked a silent question.

He nodded silently before going into an explanation. "She started choking again, Colm called the ambulance as soon as she started. Always had trouble breathing since the operation, but now they're going to insert a breathing tube." He ran a large hand through his hair and sighed heavily, looking away from us. "I'll go get the food stuffs from the car, you kids go on up and comfort your mother," he said, walking past us to Carney's car. We three obliged, walking silently up the porch and into the house, letting the paramedics walk by us on the stairs as we went up to the second floor, and going down the long hallway there until we approached the open door and found Colm, Kichiro, and Kazuhiro already inside, standing on either side of our parents' bed. First Sora went inside, followed by Carney as they stood beside Colm on the farther side of the bed. I was last out of hesitance, hesitance made from seeing my mother's emaciated body laying there, a breathing tube peeking out of the corner of her mouth, leading to the oxygen tank beside her bed.

"Amai…my little girl…come closer so I can see you better," she rasped, her voice sounding worse than it had months earlier, a voice that made me ashamed of myself when I cringed inside. I breathed in, putting on a small smile as I took in her visage as I approached her bedside, taking her long, thin hand in mine and warmed it up.

"Hi mom," I finally said, tilting my head a little as I felt my smile turn up further at the corners, and felt small tears run down one side of my pained face.


	27. Chapter 27: Mistake

**If there's one thing I hate it's writer's block. But on the bright side, Happy Halloween! Also, if there's any Juugo from **_**Naruto**_** fans out there, I just put up a oneshot on my profile page. Come on, don't be shy. Enjoy~**

"It's embarrassing."

"It's not embarrassing since you're my little girl."

"I'm not little, I'm a grown-up! That's why I'm drinking bourbon," I said sulkily, glaring at the men around the table who dared to smirk at me and stifle their laughter.

"You used to sit on my lap all the time when you were a middle schooler. Ten years later even, and you're still the same height," Dad joked laying two cards face down on the dining room table and picking up two more from the deck.

"If you want me to be involved in the game, let me play," I responded watching as two of the five other players folded their hands and leaned back in their chairs as the other three picked up and exchanged cards from the deck in the center of the table.

"Pssh, if I let you play, then I'll lose. You're my Lucky Leprechaun, I need you by my side when I'm about to cream three suckers," he said, matching Kichiro's raise and doubling it. It had been three days since mom's choking incident, and what an eventful three days it has been. What with meeting Hikaru for the first time in four months and attempting to get her to drop her "idea", getting arrested for assault, getting sued for said assault, and having to pay thirty thousand yen and thirty hours of community service. So far the only highlight of the week was the weekly poker game my dad participated in with his buddies from the surrounding farmlands, which of course meant Yuki and his father were both here, along with Hikaru's dad since they were a horse breeder and a farmer respectively. And if that wasn't punishment enough, both Kichiro and Colm were playing as well.

"Come on, Dad, let her play. Not like she'll beat us anyway," Colm said, raising the pot. Yes, even in poker he was competitive.

"Fine, fine. Margaret, play the next hand while I go upstairs. And make sure to keep the cards _straight_," he said laying down his cards and revealing the five card straight he had before moving the entirety of the pot towards himself while the rest of the table groaned in disappointment. Well, most of the table since Dad was going to split his winnings with Kichiro, Colm and I.

"Okay ladies, shall we begin?" I asked after Dad had left and I had taken his place, smiling mischievously at the people seated around me. They smirked back, thinking that my card playing skills were what they were two years ago not knowing that I, like all my brothers, had become a card shark.

_DRRR!_

"Read it 'n weep boys, I take the pot again!" I cried victoriously, sliding the pile of chips towards me. Sure each chip was one hundred yen, but money was money.

"Yuki, were you lying when you told me her tell?" Yuki's father asked, glaring between me and Yuki as he fiddled with his last ten chips.

"No, she's using it against us. I can't tell if she's bluffing anymore," Yuki said equally pissed as he looked down at his own twelve chips. Sure they could quit now, but they'd both be down about three thousand yen and half their pride. Hikaru's father wasn't fairing much either, but he had a better standing point then the horse breeders since he was better at bluffs. Same went for Kichiro and Colm in terms of how many chips they had. Just because we were family didn't mean I was going to go easy on them, even if we were splitting the pot later. But maybe that's just me getting revenge on them for pushing their chores on me when I was gullible and stupid at poker when I was a kid.

"This is just the first step of my revenge plan, the second part includes tar and feathers," I responded, stacking the chips in multiple stacks.

"Hey, I'm sorry I had to arrest you, but isn't taking me and my father's money below the belt?" Yuki asked.

"Why don't you ask Kichiro what "below the belt" really means, and decide for yourself which is better?" I asked, looking over at said brother and smirking at his pale face as he recalled the punishment I had dealt out no more than seven years ago during a certain sleep-over.

"You're getting the easy punishment. Trust me," Kichiro replied looking dour.

"One more round before Dad come back, how 'bout it?" I asked shuffling the cards. Before I could start dealing however, my cell phone rang out causing the entire table to exhale in relief when I reached into my pants pocket and took it out. When I looked at the screen I smiled to myself, stood up from the table and left the room with a quick excuse. While I crossed the dining room and the kitchen, I flipped the phone open and held it to my ear, somewhat eagerly waiting for his voice. "You know, I was expecting you to call me three days ago, so what's up?" I said cheerfully, pushing roughly against the screen door in the kitchen to go outside into the cool night air.

"_Why were you expecting me to call?_" he asked, sounding a bit suspicious.

"You didn't find out yet? It's been four days; I would've figured you'd notice by now," I said, reaching my hand absentmindedly into my pocket and fingering the full pack of cigarettes there.

"_What are you_…did you steal my cigarettes again?!" he asked, yelling loudly into the phone and forcing me to pull the phone away in hopes of salvaging my ear drum.

I waited a moment for him to calm down before putting the cell back to my ear and calmly saying, "If you've seen what I've seen, you'd be thanking me right now."

"_When are you going to stop stealing my cigarettes? And my underwear for that matter. Why'd you take those too?"_

"It wasn't on purpose. And even if it was, you really think I'm going to give you underwear I've worn? What kind of pervert are you?" I asked, semi-curious to see how he would answer that question.

"_I'm not a pervert!"_ he yelled indignantly. In some part of my mind I hoped he was alone when he said this. The other, more sadistic side of me really hoped we wasn't.

"Ohhh~ so you're a closet pervert," I said faking sympathy.

"_What?! No I'm not!"_ he denied.

"It's okay, no need to be embarrassed. I've seen the magazines in your closet," I joked, trying to make him more flustered than he already was. My joke hit its high note though when he, to my obvious delight, replied.

"_They're not in my closet."_ It went dead silent on his end after he said that, which led me to believe that he hadn't meant to blurt that bit of information out. It was silent for a moment on my end, too, before I burst out laughing hysterically.

"_It's not funny!"_ he said defensively.

"If it's not…then why…am I …on the gro…ground laughing?" I said between huge bits of laughter and intake of breath as I fell to the grass covered ground and kicked my feet repeatedly as I held my arm across my stomach to keep from busting a seam. I expected him to continue defending himself, but he didn't say anything, he just waited for me to calm down.

"_You done humiliating me?" _he asked sounding a little pissed. If I could see him right now, I would bet I would see red ears.

"Maybe…thanks for putting up with that. Besides taking money from family and friends, this has been the only high-light of my week," I said turning onto my stomach and absentmindedly plucking blades of grass.

"_That bad?"_ he asked.

"Well, besides punching my pervert from high school."

"_You punched out that teacher? Do any serious damage?"_

"Broke his nose. But then he sued me for assault and now I have to do community service. Which sucks because I hate this community," I told him looking out at the bull pen to the glaring bull inside.

"_What?! After what that pervert did to you?!"_ he asked sounding pissed as hell.

"Even if he didn't, I would've still punched him. The guy's a pompous jackass with a narcissistic personality and a douche attitude."

"…_Alright, as long as you're okay,"_ he said.

"Yeah…I'm gonna hang up now. Talk to you later…?"

"_Yeah, see ya,"_ he said before hanging up on me. I smirked to myself before sighing in displeasure, rolling over onto my back and looking up at the multitude of stars.

"Trouble in paradise?" a voice beside me asked from beside me. I gave a start, sitting up straight and looking around the darkness after hearing the oh-so familiar voice of my gloomy brother.

"Kazuhiro! Get your ass out in the light where I can see you! I swear, you're worse than Kichiro and Colm when they do the creepy twin thing," I muttered, standing up and slipping my cell phone into my pocket. He appeared from around the corner of the old house, his now black hair helping him to hide in the near darkness, his cell phone the only light that shone on his face as he looked down at it, one handedly texting.

"You didn't answer my question," he pointed out, not sparing me a glance.

"Peachy. What about you? How was date night?" I asked him, going over to the house and leaning back against it next to him.

"Perky and bright," he answered instantly, slightly annoyed, moving the phone out of my view when I tried to look.

"Okaaay, how was your date with Mamimi-chan?" I asked, generally curious to hear how a date between a super, upbeat girl and my gloomy, dour brother had gone. Unsurprisingly, he smiled when he heard his girlfriend's name. It wasn't a big smile, but it was there.

"It was nice," he said before clicking a button and flipping his phone closed. "What about you? Who were you talking to?" he asked looking over at me with dark eyes.

"A blond bartender/body guard with porn magazines under his bed," I answered nonchalantly, watching his face for any noticeable reaction. He took this information lightly, so lightly in fact that he just looked at me blankly.

"You dating a city boy?" he asked point blank.

"No, we're just friends," I said, maybe a bit too defensively because the corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes had a glitter of mischief in them.

"Yeah, sure. Do all your friends make you laugh like a mad man?" he asked.

"What friends?"

"The police man and the bisexual."

"You make it sound like the set up of a bad joke," I noted watching as he brought his phone out again and looked at the screen before flipping it open.

"A police man, a bisexual, a delinquent and a bodyguard walk into a bar…how do you think it will play out?" he asked, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. One other thing Kazuhiro and Carney had in common besides malevolence and facial features were cunning and wit. Carney had already shown his at the high school. Today was Kazuhiro's turn to show me his.

"Won't know unless it happens," I answered simply. "Tell Mamimi-chan I said hi," I said to him after discreetly looking at the screen. "Use the word 'panties' instead of 'underwear'. Sounds sexier," I said, grinning widely to myself after seeing his blushing face before I turned and walked back the door, and into the house, finding the poker game long over and half its participants drunk. My half anyway.

"Ah, Amai-san," Hikaru's father said, placing his hat on his slightly balding head before walking over to me and grabbing my hand in a sturdy shake. "It was nice seeing you again. Please give August my thanks for the card game, as well as my condolences."

"Thank you Kimura-san, say hi to Hikaru for me as well," I told him, smiling up at him. Kimura-san is a sweet man, and since he had been through this with his own wife, he understood what my father and his children were going through.

"Next time…next time we'll figure out your tell, and then! Then we will use your weakness against you or so help me, I'll break into this damn house and steal back my money!" Ito-san said erratically; face bright red with slight purple undertones as he cursed me out.

"If you go with plan B, then you'll be looking down the wrong end of a double barrel shot gun," I told him, further infuriating him.

"Come Yuki, the horses aren't going to feed themselves," he said, grabbing Yuki's arm and pulling him through the dining room, into the living room and eventually to the outside, along with Kimura-san.

"See you tomorrow Amai," Yuki called back, waving to me before backing out of the drive way and onto the country road.

"Who much did we rake in Kichiro?" I asked, turning away from Kimura-san as he drove home.

"Seventy-three hundred yen, not including what you took from us," Kichiro said, taking back from the pile of yen how much he had lost.

"How are Colm and Dad?" I asked, squatting down next to my snoring father on the couch and poking his fuzzy cheek before looking over at an equally drunk Colm on the overstuffed chair across from Dad.

"Drunk as a skunk and sleeping like a rock," he replied, dividing the money into four equal piles.

"How come you guys are so cute when you sleep?" I asked half to myself.

"Us or guys in general?" Kichiro asked looking up from the pile of money.

"General," I said, pulling a worn, ratty blanket over my father and grabbing another to put over Colm.

"General meaning all boys or general meaning Heiwajima-san?" he asked, looking over at me snidely.

"Where's Carney?" I asked, attempting to dodge the question.

"Out by the barn working on his car. Where's Kazuhiro?" he asked in turn.

"Sexting with his girlfriend out behind the house," I replied climbing to my feet and heading for the stairs. "G'night," I called to him before ascending the stairs. When I got to the top, I walked to the end of the hall and opened the door a crack, peeking in at mom, seeing her sleep peacefully, albeit a bit raspy. I smiled tiredly at her before closing the door and going back down the hall to my shared room with Sora. Inside he was sleeping in a lump of blankets and sheets all rolled into one, comfy cocoon, drool running down one side of his face. I smirked lightly at his goofy face before walking into my closet and turning on the light bulb inside. Closing the doors behind me, I rooted around the inside of my once shared closet until I found my back pack where I left it, under several of Sora's t-shirts and jeans. Taking it out from under the pile I unzipped it and pulled out the neatly folded shirt inside. I then proceeded to take off my shirt and jeans and slip the too big shirt on, buttoning the buttons and laughing a bit when I saw it come down mid-thigh yet again. If someone were to ask me about it, I'd lie and say I bought a too big shirt, yet in reality I'd forgotten to pack any night clothes and didn't have any here. And, let's face it, this was pretty comfy in its own way, yet there would be hell if any of my brothers, both older and younger, caught me wearing Shizuo's shirt. And by hell, I meant punishment. And by caught, I meant endless tormenting and sexual innuendos until time ceased to exist. Stepping out from the closet, after turning the light off, I strode over to my bed carefully, stepping lively incase Sora woke up. After I had gathered my blankets around me, I fell asleep wrapped in blankets, cloth, and the undertones of cigarette smoke.

_DRRR!_

"You know, sometime's when you dream something, it's what you really want to happen," Hikaru said, crossing her arms as she looked up at me from the ground as I painted the roof of the tool shed. Hikaru is my only female friend…well, the only one that didn't have ulterior motives vying for my brother's affections. She's quirky, a nerd and random most times but all-in-all I loved her like the sister I never had. She's stick straight, not sexually of course, with a mop of curly brown hair covering the top of her head, and always wears stripped shirts and fake hipster glasses. I never really understood her fashion choices outside of school, but then again, I'm the one wearing overalls and a ratty wife beater tank top right now.

"Well that makes no sense," I replied, slathering more paint on top of the chipped wood.

"Well, dreams often don't, sometimes they're even unexplainable," Yuki said, taking on a concentration pose. To me it looked like he was thinking too hard.

"No, I mean it makes no sense that I subconsciously want to see Shizuo with puppy ears and a tail chasing his enemy in kitty ears right before he bowls me over and lands on top of a poodle me," I explained, climbing down the ladder.

"Maybe that's how you view your whole relationship," Yuki suggested.

"Or because I wore his shirt last night," I muttered to myself.

"What?" Well, mostly to myself.

"Nothing…maybe those are my ideas for Halloween?" I suggested weakly.

"Or that you want Shizuo-san to mount you and drive you home like a pack of sled dogs," Hikaru said getting a far-away, dreamy look in her brown eyes.

"Yuki, why can't you satisfy your man more?" I asked, looking over at him with a disappointed expression.

"Or, and hear me out, Yuki could satisfy us both!" Hikaru said, star-eyed and hopeful.

"No," I said point blank, grabbing the second can of red paint and ascending the ladder once again before getting distracted by the chiming of my cell phone. Leaving the paint can on an unpainted section of the shed, I answered it, all the while Hikaru was pleading in my ear and Yuki was trying to calm her down from her wild, semi-homoerotic fantasies.

"'Sup Shizu-chan?" I asked distracted, struggling to hold the phone to my ear and paint the shack at the same time.

"_Do_ not_ call me that,"_ he hissed through the phone.

"Amai, who's that? Is that the city boy? Your boy-toy? Shizu-chan?" Hikaru asked practically climbing up the wall of the shed. This was a bad idea on her part because the side of the shed she was leaning on was covered in wet paint. Too bad she didn't realize this until she touched the wall with her hands. When she stepped back to look down at herself, we all saw her black and white shirt that now looked like the start to a bad joke. What's black and white and red all over? An oblivious Hikaru.

"Hikaru, you saw me paint that side!" I said, frustrated that I now had to repaint the wall.

"Oh my God! I look like I was in a low budget slasher flick!" she cried, trying unsuccessfully to wipe it off, but succeeding in creating a larger blot of red.

"_Amai? Who's that?"_ Shizuo's voice buzzed from the phone as I watched the series of events unfold before me on the ground.

"My friends Hikaru and Yuki. Hikaru just-Hey! Hikaru! Don't take off your shirt!" I shouted as Hikaru peeled off her stripped shirt and threw it to the ground in a red, white and black mess. Yuki stood there dumbly, blushing like the virgin he wasn't as he stared openly at Hikaru as she crossed her arms over her breasts, fuming silently that her favorite shirt was going to end up pink.

"Yuki! Stop standing there like a virgin staring at Hikaru's half naked body and go inside and grab one of my brother's shirts!" I directed him. Why I told him to get my brother's shirts was simply because I doubted mine would be able to get over her chest. It's not like I'm small, at best I'm a B, but hers were at least double. Can't blame a guy for staring I guess.

"_Who's half-naked?" _Shizuo said, his voice sounding a little pissed off, either from what he had heard or from being ignored thus far.

"My friend Hikaru just took off their clothes and my moronic friend just stared like they'd never seen it before. Actually I can't blame Yuki for staring; if I'm honest Hikaru's got somethin' nice. Not too big and not too small," I mused, watching as Hikaru absentmindedly leaned back against the shed again and flinched forward when the paint touched her back. Amused by her oblivious self, I chuckled at her antics.

"_What the hell are you talking about?" _Shizuo asked, sounding frustrated.

"I-"

"Amai! Since my shirts already off, how 'bout we start when Yuki gets back?" Hikaru asked me, cupping her hands around her mouth so I would hear her.

"No! For the last time, I refuse to be involved in a three-way!" I shouted back down to her, getting pissed at her inability to understand no.

"_Three-what the hell is that bastard asking you?!"_ Shizuo shouted into my ear at the same time Hikaru started talking again, wiggling around in her excitement.

"What if I can get Yuki to change his mind?"

"If Yuki agrees then I'll-"I suddenly remembered that Shizuo was on the phone. "Sorry Shizuo, now's not a good time to talk, Hikaru keeps moving around and makin' it shake and I have to calm 'em down before people notice."

"_Wait! What do you-"_he started before I cut him off and pocketed the phone, climbing down the ladder and putting both hands on Hikaru, making her stop jumping around. I was lucky my brother's were in the barn milking the cows, otherwise this whole situation would have been more awkward.

"If Yuki agrees, then I'll bitch slap him to Hell. Now would you please stop asking me?! You're my only female friend and I don't want it to be awkward between us afterward," I said, reasoning with her. She pouted but otherwise obliged, nodding her head and looking down at the ground like a child who didn't get what they wanted.

"Fine," she pouted, glaring at me slightly, "So mean Amai-chan."

"I'm not mean, I just don't want my best friend to see my bits and pieces," I countered.

"Showed them to Yuki," she muttered looking away and smiling deviously to herself when I looked at her with a blushing face.

"How about we leave Yuki out of this conversation," I suggested, climbing the ladder once again to retrieve the can of red paint from atop the roof.

"You're done talking to your city friend, Amai?" She asked me, keeping special attention to the wall of the shed as she drifted closer to the ladder.

"Not entirely, I had to hang up when you was being yourself," I answered dully, looking over at my sheepish friend who whistled innocently in spite of what had happened. "I bet the whole situation must have seemed confusing to Shizuo though. Hope I explained well enough," I said, trying to remember what I had exactly said to him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, when you were talking to me and him, you made it sound like I was a guy, didn't you?" she asked, tilting her head a little to the side.

"Possibly…why does it matter?" I asked slowly, pausing in my actions to look down at her curiously.

"Well, when he was shouting on your phone, it seemed like he was jealous, right? Some guy taking his clothes off in front of you and shakin' their money-maker?"

"Umm…possibly?" I said, my throat feeling very dry.

"Well, since it seems like he's the jealous type, doesn't it seem likely that he'll come up here?" she asked, grinning widely at my ashen face as I took in this theory.

I looked away from her and stared down at the roof, thinking through what I had said to Shizuo and finding that Hikaru was right. I had made it seem like she was man, it didn't help that Hikaru's name was versatile. "I don't think he's the jealous type. And even if he was, I doubt he'd come all the way up to Hokkaido. A guy like him? I doubt he'd be patient enough to wait out the whole endeavor." Was what I hoped, but then again, how well did I really know him?


	28. Chapter 28: Issues

"He doesn't return my calls, he doesn't respond to my texts, and the one time he picks up he says he's "busy" and hangs up on me. Frankly that guy is starting to piss me off and the next time I see that jackass I'm going to kick his fucking ass!" I ranted finishing in large huffs at the end as my rage rolled off of me in waves. Somewhere inside me I thought that all this anger wouldn't be good for her to be around. Although, when I heard her chuckle lightly at my rant I knew it was okay.

"Are there any _good_ qualities? Or is that all of them?" she asked, coughing lightly as she lay against the pile of pillows.

"Mmm~ I'm sorry. When you asked me why I was upset, I just kinda sorta started ranting," I said looking down at my clenched hands guiltily.

"It's okay Amai; you really like this boy, so I understand why you're so upset." My mother, the only person who could see through me.

"Ah, no. I _like_ him, but I don't_ like_ him. Ya know?" I said, trying to dissuade her from whatever was running through her mind. She just smiled at me, both knowing and not knowing what I meant. I couldn't blame her though, even _I _confused myself sometimes.

"So do you have a picture of this boy? Or should I use my imagination?" she asked. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders before remembering that Sora had mentioned to me that he had read an article on him.

"Be right back," I told her getting up from the chair by her bed and running down the hall to Sora and my room, digging through stacks of paper and magazines until I found several issues of _Tokyo Warrior_. Not wanting to keep Mom waiting, I brought all seven issues I had found back to her room and seated myself beside as I looked through the indexes. I didn't involve Mom in my search because with a name like "Heiwajima Shizuo" tagged with the epithet "Strongest Man in Ikebukuro", it was best that I let her see it for herself. _'Sheesh, I was right when I said it was a fluff piece,'_ I thought, folding the magazine down the center and showing it to Mom. Well, what little there was on the page anyway. Actually, it'd be more accurate to say that it was like those pieces people see on cryptids: a bad title, an even worse caption, a messed up explanation and a terrible picture that isn't all there.

"Umm, is this supposed to be him?" she asked confused, pointing to the picture of the black and white man with the mop of obscured blond hair throwing what I assumed was a…vending machine?

"Sort of," I said, albeit a little unsure myself. Honestly I could draw better than the photographed picture…although from the position of it, it looked like Shizuo was throwing the vending machine at the photographer. "But, umm, he's about five or six inches taller than me-I reach his shoulders- and he's got blond hair, like in the picture," I tried to explain making various gestures that I was pretty sure were just confusing her more. "He's a tough guy, but he's pretty soft inside," I said resigning myself to explain what I at least thought of him.

"Hmm…I'll take your word for it, but I bet the photographer didn't think so," she said chuckling a bit maliciously at the photograph, "If he takes pictures like these, he must not have a very developed career," she chuckled, laughing at her own pun. Yeah, and people thought we inherited our bad personalities from our father. "So you were saying about Heiwajima-kun not calling you back? Why won't he?" she asked setting aside the magazine.

"'cause he's a jackass that won't listen to a word I say," I muttered glaring at the wall, "and even though I've told him a hundred times that Hikaru's female, he won't call back. Frankly I feel like he's about to do something crazy, but then again, I don't know him that well."

"Do you want me to try calling him? I'm told I can be very persuasive," she said smiling innocently. Persuasive? More like guilt-tripping.

"No, I'll try calling one more time before making the ultimate decision."

"You mean final decision."

"Essentially, but how I said it was cooler," I argued, tapping in Shizuo's number and setting it so Mom could listen in on whatever smidgen of conversation there would be. On the forth ring Shizuo graced me with his rough voice for the first time in twenty-four hours.

"_Yeah?"_ One word? What, I wasn't worthy of "Amai, I'm busy'?

"What no 'you've reached the voice mail of blonde jackass. Leave a message after the fucking beep?'" I asked irritated, momentarily forgetting who I was in the presence of before I heard her disciplinary voice.

"Amai! Use polite language when you're speaking to someone," she rasped heavily, clearly upset by my choice of words.

"_Amai? Who's that you're with?"_ he asked.

"That's my Mom, her name is Tachibana Yasuko-"

"Feel free to call me Yasuko-san," Mom added cheerfully, losing all traces of her previous attitude instantly.

"…_Heiwajima Shizuo,"_ he said hesitantly. _"Is there something wrong with the connection? It sounds a little…"_ he said trailing off, unsure of himself.

"Don't mind my voice; it's been like this for the longest time. Amai, why don't you go talk to your friend downstairs, I'm going to take a nap before lunch, alright?" she suggested, scooting away from the pile of pillows she was resting against to lay her head down.

"Yeah, I'll be back up in a few hours. Sleep well, Mom," I told her, closing the door softly before retreating downstairs to hang out in the kitchen.

"_So that was your mom,"_ he said while I walked down the stairs.

"Yup. I was just talking to her about you," I told him, sitting down on a stool.

"_Is she…does she have…"_ he didn't seem to get his words out, understandable since I could get the gist of what he was trying to say.

"She's got lung cancer. Smoking also kinda wrecked her throat, too," I told him, looking blandly out the window.

"_I'm sorry to hear that."_

"Yeah, well they're not called cancer sticks for nothing, huh?" I said, maybe a little too snidely, but maybe now he understood why I disliked cigarettes so much. "So what's up? How come you won't call me back?" I asked, hoping to distract from the previous conversation.

"_I told you, I'm busy,"_ he said stubbornly.

"Shizuo, I've called you thirty-seven times. I know because my brothers keep making fun of me for it. Also, by this point I'm sick of being the super clingy girl-friend we both know I'm not. So put up or shut up. Why haven't you been answering your cell? I think it's safe to assume that as a body guard, your only job critique is to beat people up and guard a body. Not exactly time consuming from what I've seen."

He didn't speak after that, so I assumed that I'd found him out, at least half-way anyway. When he finally did speak, it was…surprising to say the least.

"_Don't you have more important things to do than call someone like me?"_ Surprising indeed since I didn't expect him to say that in the least.

"The Hell's that supposed to mean?" I asked him, both irritated at his cryptic answer, as well as confused.

"_Exactly what I mean, I heard your friend on the phone, why don't you hang out with her? Why are you wasting time with someone you'll see next week?"_ he asked.

I was dumbfounded. Was he actually suggesting to not speak to him for the rest of the week? Son of a bitch, he's either a moron or he's jealous.

"Shizuo, you-"

"_I gotta go, I'm holding Tom-san up,"_ he said before hanging up on me, leaving me alone in the kitchen with a tone dial ringing in my ear. I closed the phone shut, and stood still in the middle of the kitchen, staring at nothing in particular, my face showing a blank slate of nothing as a hot pit of fire and lava stewed inside me and broiled over the rims, showing on my face the emotions of a pissed off person with severe attitude problems.

"Shizuo you _fucking son of a __**BIIIIIIITCCHHHHHH**__!_"

_DRRR!_

"Ow, ow, ow~"

"The hell you doing to my car, Amai?"

"I think it's pretty obvious I was trying to use it," I replied struggling under him as he locked my arms behind my back and pushed my face into the gravel.

"More like steal it and take it into town. Who gave you the right to steal my car, stupid?" my younger brother lisped taking obvious pleasure in his interrogation. "I'm gonna call a family meeting, and then you can properly explain to everyone what you're up to, nee-chan."

"Aww~ Come on! I already told Mom what's happening, and she encourages my idea!" I explained, using my body to swiftly knock him on his side against the gravel and pin him there while he glared up at me furiously. "Just drive me into town and we can forget the whole thing, huh?" He seemed to think this over as he glared up at me, his own face now pressed into the dirt.

"DAD! DAD! Amai's trying to escape and go back to the city!" he shouted towards the barn where a tall, burly man appeared in the large entrance at the call of summons. My father carried a large pitchfork, probably from tossing hay into the loft above, but the look itself was terrifying and ominous.

"Now why would my only daughter take off a week early without any explanation or goodbyes to her dear old father and brothers?" he asked me as he made his way to where I was currently putting Carney in a headlock for ratting me out.

"It wasn't voluntary, it was impulse. My friend's being a jealous bitch and I need to kick some sense into him," I tried to explain.

"And to think of leaving without saying good bye to your poor sick mum. For shame lassie."

"Mom encouraged me! It was her idea!"

"She encouraged you to leave without telling anyone?" he asked, slightly skeptical but otherwise believing this is something she would say.

"She said she'd cover for me."

"Granted that is something she would say, what friend is this that deserves to be punished for their crimes?"

"Not friend. Lover boy," Carney choked out before kicking me off of him and scrambling to stand by our father's side.

"A buachaill? Is this a real boyfriend or a boy who's only a friend?" he asked, seeking clarification.

"Daaad~! I don't want to get into my relationships now," I whined, standing up from the ground.

"You're breaking my heart, Margaret. When am I going to get grandkids?"

"What about Daichi and the unborn child Patrick has?" I asked him, paling slightly at the fact my father was getting involved in my love life like everyone else.

"I mean from you," he said stubbornly, crossing his arms while Carney held the pitchfork like the little devil he is.

"Ugh, you're worse than Mom is, but not half as bad as Taka-chan," I replied disbelieving that this is the reality I live in.

"Fair question since you're turning twenty-four next month and currently have a non-existent love life," Kazuhiro stated, walking towards us while simultaneously playing with his phone.

"Then why don't you gang up on Kichiro?" I asked, pissed that they over-looked the fact that my older brother was a play boy.

"Fair enough, let's go inside then and have a meeting/trial/intervention," Kazuhiro suggested, looking at me with a small smirk on his face.

I scowled, hating that my escape plan had turned into a trial to determine my future and imprisonment.

_DRRR!_

My head hurt. Why? Because I just got off the train from a thirteen hour trip back down to Ikebukuro because a certain blonde jackass decided to play the part of the wounded bird. Not to mention the fact that I had to convince my two older brothers to let me go back early without them even though I'm the one that dragged them there in the first place-_that_ was an argument that would not end-added to the fact that I had to single-handedly convince my dad that letting me come back to Ikebukuro would somehow help my love-life. Considering my dad put me in a head lock while I was telling him, the trial ended in my favor, so long as the next time I came back home I bring a boy that's not just my friend. I had a feeling it would be a very long time until I next saw my younger brothers and parents. But enough of the past, in the present I was currently using my lock picking kit to, well, pick a lock, which was actually pretty difficult to do since it was dark outside and I was holding a penlight between my teeth that jittered every time I tried to grind my teeth when I thought about how I was going to kill Shizuo.

'_The first part I should think about is how I should wake that bastard up before I start cursing him out. Maybe I should do something with water…although I don't want it to look like a middle school prank. Should I dump water over him?...No, that would be too messy.'_ I thought as the door unlocked and I turned the knob. Returning my tools to their proper place I looked around the inside of his apartment. Like I had seen before, it was sparsely furnished. A small kitchen area, a TV against the opposite wall with a coffee table set in front of it and a few other miscellaneous items spread around the small apartment.

'_Well, I have a feather in my backpack-thank you Aki._ _Maybe I'll luck out and find whipped cream in his fridge.'_ I thought, going over to the fridge and opening it quietly, looking inside. I was lucky, inside, along with several cups of pudding, was a can of whipped cream. _'Shizuo, you're making this too easy,_' I thought, grabbing the can of whipped cream…as well as a cup of pudding. Let's face it; even if it was five in the morning, I was hungry. Setting my backpack against the wall beside the bedroom door, I dug through it for the long feather and opened the door slowly 'les the sleeper inside wake up and spoil my revenge plan, well the first part anyway. This was going to be a fun week.

Pen light clenched between my teeth, and the feather and cell phone in my hands, the whipped cream can in my back pocket, I tip-toed my way to his bedside and snapped a picture of his sleeping face, the 'before' picture as it were. "Shizuo, we are going to have some fun together," I whispered to him, setting down the feather and phone beside me and shaking up can. Laughing maliciously to myself I sprayed the whipped cream on his face, giving him a whipped cream beard. Holding my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing and waking him up, I picked up my phone off the floor and took a picture of his oblivious face. When the whipped cream started to melt a bit, I felt around for the feather on the floor but my hand instead brushed against something that was most definitely _not _the feather.

Confused, but also curious, I took the light out of my mouth and looked to where I had felt the flat surface that felt like a box. When I saw that it was indeed a box I grinned to myself, momentarily forgetting the search for the feather. After sliding the box out from under the bed, I sat down, my back resting against the side of his bed as I opened the flaps of the small brown box. At first I was expecting the box of porn magazines he had hidden, but when I looked inside and found various manila folders and papers, I got confused. These things looked like…hospital records? I picked up one of the many manila folders and looked inside, seeing a shiny piece of black paper…was it paper? I took it out of the manila folder and looked at it until I figured out what it was.

Placing the pen light under the paper, I soon figured out that it was an x-ray of a child's broken leg. Wondering if all the manila folders were the same I took them all out of the ox and looked through each one. They all spanned different ages, the earliest being about eight years old and the latest about twelve or thirteen. The range at which their bones were broken, or at the very least sprained, went from arms and legs to several other places within the torso of the body. How was this humanly possible?

"Shizuo, you are one messed up freak of nature aren't you?" I said to myself as I looked back in the box at the number of medical records and doctor's notes. Behind me I heard a rustling of bed sheets and a low moan as the blond giant slowly woke up and, through no fault of my own, rubbed his face, effectively smearing the whipped cream around the open regions of his face I had not covered.

"What the-is this?" he said groggily, looking at his whipped cream covered hand before tentatively licking it, his expression, what I could see of it anyway, looked confused. I contemplated three things. One, stay perfectly still and wait until he got up and went to the bathroom so I could make my escape. Two, hide under the bed and wait until he was gone. Or three, be obnoxious and let him know I was there. While my head, gut and every other part of my body voted for options one and two, my personality overruled them all and voted option three.

"Good morning sunshine! Beautiful day for a whipped cream beard ain't it?!" I shouted, effectively alerting him to my presence and making him jump in shock into a seated position as he looked down, dazed and confused, at me.

"Amai? What are you doing here? Why am I covered in whipped cream...? _What the hell's your problem?!_" he shouted at me obviously upset…from what I could see beyond the whipped cream.

"That's what I want to know! The last one, not the first two," I added, pointing a finger at him with a frustrated look on my face.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, swiping a tissue from a box on the nightstand and cleaning his hand off as well as his face.

"You know: the fact that I called you and you acted like a jealous bitch before hanging up on me. I had to cut my vacation short you ass! Do you have any idea how hard it is on the human body to stay this pissed and travel for thirteen hours? I got called a bitch twice just because I was saving it all for you!" I ranted, practically feeling the bitterness on the tip of my tongue. "What exactly is _your_ problem?" I asked him, turning the question back on him.

"…You came back for a petty reason like that?' he asked, further igniting the fury in my body.

"You wanna talk about petty, let's look at how you reacted to a huge misunderstanding," I muttered before taking on a wildly creepy expression and smiling up at him. "Oh, we are going to have a fun week together Heiwajima-kun, a fun week indeed," I said monotonously, standing up from the floor and practically crawling over him as I leaned over the bed and placed my hands on either side of his body as I got close to him and whispered threateningly, "I'll be like the stalker ex-girlfriend you've never had. I'll be the creepy feeling you get when you feel like you're being watched. And when you go home and climb into bed, I'll be person next to you whispering bad things in your ear just so you can dream nightmares."

"…Amai…that's creepy," he said, his nose just barely brushing mine when he responded to my threat.

"Tell that to my mom, she's the one that made me memorize it before I left," I told him, snapping out of the creepy tone and leaning away to rock back on my heels. "But the gist of it is that you're basically stuck with me for the next week."

"Why am I stuck with you?" he asked a little annoyed.

"You know that phase 'you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here'? Well it's kinda like that for me, except I can't go back to Hokkaido for my own sanity and ultimatum, and I can't go back to live with Taka-chan until next week," I told him, sitting down beside him on his bed.

"Why not?"

"Well, when I called him a few hours ago on the train, it sounded like he was either fighting a large animal or having sex. Actually, with the partner he's chosen, it could be either one," I told him, "and frankly I'm too happy for him to disturb his two weeks of bliss."

"Why do you have to stay here?"

"But I thought since you're my only other friend here it'd be okay. If…if you don't want me to stay, I guess I could try somewhere else," I said, pulling my weepy, chibi eye thing on him.

"It-it's fine, just stay here," he consented looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Yay! I get to stay with Shizuo!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together in obvious delight.

"You're not drunk, are you?' he asked suddenly, confusing me.

"Nope! Just really happy I won't have to slum it out," I explained ignoring my confusion. Without warning I climbed onto his bed and straddled his waist while wrapping my arms around him and hugged him. While this in itself seemed a bit out of character for me to do, I simply wanted to show him my gratitude. Unbeknownst to me, he wanted to show me something, too. I won't say it was a comfortable feeling, but I will say it was unexpected. And while I wanted to ask him whether it was me that made his…'friend' stand up or the simple fact that a girl was sitting on his lap, seeing his face erased these thoughts from my mind and a single sentence filled their place.

"Why Shizuo-kun~ I didn't know I had that kind of effect on you~" I said, finally nailing that seductive voice I had tried to force weeks back. Maybe it only worked if it wasn't forced…or if it wasn't on perverts.

"Sh-shut up! J_ust get out of here already!"_ he shouted pointing me towards the bedroom door while squirming under me with red ears and a shy/pissed expression.

"Fine, fine. I'll just take this box of goodies with me and leave you to handle your problem. Extra emphasis on hand," I said, muttering the last part to myself happily as I awkwardly climbed off his lap and picked up the brown box. "Oh, and before I forget," I said absentmindedly, juggling the box in one hand while using the other to grab my cell phone, flip it open, and scroll through the pictures there until I found the most recent one of my friend. "This is Hikaru, the person you were jealous of. The girl with the ultra fluffy hair and glasses, and, well, boobs. I'll leave you to wallow in your embarrassment now," I said, flipping the phone closed and walking purposefully to the door. After I closed the door I set the box beside me on the floor and sat down at the coffee table, using the minimal light from the rising sun to look at the rest of the x-rays. Behind me I heard a shower going in the bathroom and joked to myself that he was probably taking a cold shower. After a while I felt my eyes grow tried, and before I knew it I had lost consciousness.

_DRRR!_

Shizuo's POV

'_Why did she do that? Why did _that_ have to happen? _Shit! _Why does she have to make everything awkward?!'_ I thought after working out my 'problem'. _'Why can't she just stay with this 'Taka-chan', or whatever his name is?'_ Turning the water off, I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying myself off and wrapping it around my waist before taking another one and drying my hair. Leaving it wrapped around my shoulders I stepped out of the bathroom and towards my closet, opening it and seeing the white shirts and black pants from my brother inside. _'Then she jokes about it like it's nothing. Why didn't _she_ feel awkward? She was sitting right there!'_ I stripped myself of the towel around my waist and slipping on underwear from my dresser drawer. _'I know she felt it, I saw her face,' _I thought distractedly, taking out a pair of black slacks and putting it on. "Did she do it on purpose or was it by accident?" I asked myself aloud, taking the towel from around my neck and replacing it with a white, button-up shirt. I looked towards the door and debated to myself whether or not I should ask her, and whether she would evade the question like she did all those other times before or use it to mess with me.

"Amai, I want to ask you something," I said, calling to her from beyond the door. I didn't get a reply, snappy or otherwise. I went to the door and opened it, seeing her sitting in front of the coffee table, the box full of medical records in front of her. "Amai?" I said walking over to her. She didn't respond, instead choosing to ignore me, and frankly piss me off. "Hey, Amai! Don't ignore me!" I said angrily, reaching down to shake her shoulder, only to have her fall backwards onto the floor, sound asleep and softly snoring. I was shocked, but after the night she's had it wasn't surprising. Sighing to myself I bent down next to her and sat her up, her head lolling forward before moving up slightly. Beneath her red bangs I saw her eyes open a bit and look up at me tiredly.

"What happen to stalking me this week?" I asked her in all serious, hooking my arm under her legs and wrapping my other one behind her back, effortlessly picking her up as I stood.

"I'll do it another day…when I'm not…all tired…or…whatev-" she said trailed off, falling asleep in my arms as I walked back to my bedroom and laid her down on the bed, covering her body with the blanket as she buried her face into my pillow.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you after work," I told her, picking my bowtie up off of the nightstand and wrapping it around my neck before clipping it together.

"Thanks for letting me stay here," she muttered, whether in her sleep or not I wasn't sure since it was so quiet I was surprised I heard it at all.

"Yeah," I said, whether she heard it or not I wasn't sure, I but left soon after, closing my apartment door on the sleeping girl inside.


	29. Chapter 29: Whiskey

I don't know if I dreamed or not, only that I was in a soundless sleep. Well, until bright evening sunlight filtered into the room and onto my face. Squeezing my eyes tighter against the invasive sunlight and pulling the warm blanket up above my head, I rolled over onto my other side and attempted to get back to sleep unsuccessfully. Unsuccessfully because one thing weighed heavily on my mind: Where was I?

Groggily I opened my eyes to assess where I was. _'Let's see, I remember getting pissed off at Shizuo. My family giving me a headlock. Something about a train…something about whipped cream…something about an erection…am I…am I at Shizuo's house?'_ I thought, looking around more closely to my surroundings.

"Yeah, this is Shizuo's place," I said aloud, looking around at the sparseness of his room, the cracked walls and the splintered dresser. "Must get up…and stalk blonde jackass." I sat up and swung my legs over the bed, shakily I stood up, only to step on my ankle awkwardly and send me sprawling to the floor. "Shit, how'd I forget about that?" I muttered getting up to my hands and knees and falling back on my butt to inspect my now poorly wrapped ankle. Sighing to myself I got to my feet and searched through his bathroom for some kind of first-aid kit that, depending on his medical history, I was sure he had. Locating soon after entering, I rewrapped my ankle tightly enough to render it immobile to turning, but not so much that it cut off my circulation and turned my foot purple…the second time that is. Walking out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen area, I rifled through the fridge and found exactly what I expected: pudding, milk, and minimal leftovers.

'_You know, since Shizuo's letting me stay here, the least I can do is make him dinner,'_ I thought frowning at the emptiness of both the fridge and my stomach. "Alright! New mission: Get Food Stuffs While Hunting Down Shizuo!" With that statement I headed out, slapping on my red fedora and bringing along my wallet stuffed with poker winnings, a lock picking kit, and an umbrella.

_DRRR!_

Since, in my schoolmate's parent's words, my mom is a manipulative bitch, she taught me two things about men. One) men are easily manipulated and led. And two) the easiest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Not that I was trying to get to his heart or anything, it's just that I wanted to continue living there for the next week. At least this was my mantra as I walked through the supermarket, Shizuo's umbrella upon my shoulder as my temporary metal bat and shield in case of rain.

"What to make, what to make," I muttered to myself as I strolled the aisles and the produce section wile amid frantic housewives browsing the sales and fighting each other. Gradually I got lost within the store and eventually came out unscathed with a couple bundles of various foods. Choosing not to dwell on the fact that my wallet physically felt lighter, I headed back towards Shizuo's apartment, planning to deposit the food stuffs in the fridge before hunting him down. The only flaw in my plan was that I had no idea where to look beyond deadbeats' houses and Sunshine 60. That and the constant feeling that I was being followed by someone. Depending on the way the woman behind kept ducking behind lamp posts every time I turned to look, I was being followed very poorly. Finally after a few blocks I had had enough.

"Hey! If you're going to stalk me that poorly, you might as well walk beside me," I shouted over my shoulder, stopping in my tracks as I waited for the woman to walk up to me awkwardly.

"You're Tachibana Amai, right? Sister to Kichiro-kun?" the woman asked, looking at me directly with a sort of confidence I recognized.

"Do you know another Amai with bright red hair and a bitchy personality?" I asked her while looking her up and down, trying to remember where I've seen her before.

She laughed then, shaking her head while answering my somewhat question. "No, I don't suppose I do." Then I remembered who she was. Amano Misako, a twenty-seven year old college graduate that worked in the movie industry as a location scout and director's assistant. A woman my height with short blonde and brown hair that stuck up on one side. She is my brother's best friend and the girl he's in love with. Too bad they have a love/hate relationship in which he loves her and she hates him…why are they friends again?

"So when did you return to town?" I asked her, moving forward again with her walking beside me.

"Same to you, I heard you kidnapped Colm-kun and Kichiro-kun for a two week family mandated vacation," she responded smirking at me.

"Yeah, well, those two are still on their vacation. I was unfortunately called in for a, umm, personal issue," I told her.

"Yeah…I got a sort of 'personal issue' too," she said, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable and nervous.

"Are…are you alright, Misako?"

"Yeah no I'm great, but what's your issue?" she said, avoiding the question. Suddenly I had an idea of what Shizuo had been feeling every time I avoided his questions. I felt annoyed.

"Yeah, it's the weirdest story, but bottom line I'm back because Shizuo is unpredictable and…I was afraid he might come up and terrorize the village people because of jealousy," I joked, smiling over at her as we walked down the street, nearing Shizuo's apartment block. "So what about you? What's new in your world?"

"I'm pregnant."

"Seriously? Congratulations! When are you due?" I asked her, looking down at where her stomach would be if it weren't covered in a baggy sweatshirt.

"Just about five months, so, you know, fairly soon," she answered with a slightly exasperated expression.

"Who's the father? A friend of yours or someone I don't know?"

"Oh, it's someone you know alright," she answered cryptically, placing her fingers against her stomach lightly and looking down at it nervously.

"That seems doubtful, I barely know anyone. Took me two years to figure out who Shizuo is," I said with a sour expression.

"Hmm, well, you definitely know this person," she said, insisting upon my near-extinct social life.

"Yeah, I doubt it. Tell me, how is this person you claim I know so well?!" I shouted gleefully, having no idea who she could possibly have a baby with beyond the few men I know she couldn't have had sex with.

"The father is your brother." Well, I can say for sure that _that_ was unexpected. Somewhere in the back of my head I heard alarm bells going off and something exploding. I think it was mind.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what?" I asked her, trading my bags to one hand and pounding the side of my head in an attempt to clear anything that might have been blocking my hearing.

"Kichiro-kun and I had sexual relations and now I'm pregnant," she clarified, like what she said before didn't make any sense. It didn't, but that's the problem.

"Yeah, I heard that, I'm just trying to cope with it. How did this happen?"

"Well, your brother's semen got attached to my egg-"

"I know how babies are made! I mean how did you and Kichiro…I thought you hated…how?!" I asked her clearly exasperated. "Oh God my head hurts. Here take these, I need to get something from that place," I told her, handing her the few plastic bags and heading over to the 24-hour liquor store, disappearing inside and reappearing soon after with a bottle of whiskey. Soon after I returned I led her back to Shizuo's apartment and sat her down in front of the coffee table, while I scrounged around the inside of Shizuo's cupboards for two smallish glasses.

"Amai, do you live here?" Misako asked, looking around the apartment as I found two shot glasses in the back of a cupboard.

'_Strange, it doesn't seem like Shizuo drinks,'_ I thought grabbing the glasses and setting them on the counter before looking through the fridge for a drink I could give Misako. "I'm living her temporarily for stalking purposes. This is Shizuo-san's apartment," I told her, snatching a bottle from the top shelf of the fridge and going back over to Misako with the two drinks and glasses.

"Ah, yeah, that makes sense, because Kichiro-kun said your apartment was different from this."

"What'd he say? That my place looked like a rat-infested dump?" I asked her setting the bottle of milk in front of her before uncapping the bottle of whiskey and pouring the whiskey into the two shot glasses.

"Not exactly. His exact words were, "a rat-infested, shit-hole that gives dumps a bad name"," she said, taking a small sip of her drink while I threw both shots of whiskey back.

"I'd be insulted if that isn't what I would call it," I replied, pouring two more shots and throwing them back again. "Besides, his dorm isn't exactly at the peak of cleanliness either."

"Yeah, I've seen it. He's not exactly the most responsible person, is he." It was a statement that goes without question.

"Not many people get to see it, but he has a good side to him. If you and him got together for one night, even if you call him a man-whore, I'm sure you've seen that side of him."

"Yeah…he is a pretty good guy. But…I don't know if he'll take that step."

"Are you saying you want him to marry you?"

"I want him to be part of our child's life, if that means he has to marry me then…I know it seems a little farfetched, but I know what it's like not to have both your parents with you. And not even knowing if they care at all about you," she said, breaking m heart by the end.

"Misako-chan, all that matters is the person who cared for you when the world seemed like utter crap. You're father is the biggest moron on the planet if he didn't want to stick around and see what an awesome person you are," I told her, giving her a peek at my softer side.

"Geez…you sound just like Kichiro…" She began furiously wiping at her eyes then, proof that pregnancy hormones were kicking in since she was too in touch with her emotions to cry in front of people.

"I am his sister after all. And since I'm his sister, I know he'll do the right thing."

"No, he's a man-whore. There's no way he'll do that."

"It's because he's a man-whore that he will. Believe it or not, when dad found out he was messing around four years ago, he hammered responsibility into his pliable mind."

"I don't want him to be involved if his father makes him-"

"Mom too, told him if he doesn't marry the mother of his child, he'd be dishonoring himself and the thing that brought her and dad together."

"Love?"

"Yeah, that and Patrick." This was true. While it was fairly obvious that they were together out of love, neither mom nor dad could keep it in their pants. The shocking thing is that they waited until they were in their 20's…of course this could've been a bald-faced lie on their part in a move to promote celibacy. Yeah, great job they did drilling those bits and pieces of information into Kichiro. Now he's drilling his bits into many girls' pieces and now the information of his unborn child has come into the light.

"Umm, Amai, should you be drinking that much?" she asked, looking nervously at the third set of shots.

"If I'm going to listen to the story of how my brother nailed you and impregnated you with his bastard seed, I'm gonna need to be pretty hammered," I said knocking them back and refilling the small glasses. "Now please, enlighten me with your tale."

Misako's POV

"I don' know how you could _possib-bibly_ slept with Kichiro. But since you did the one thing with the horn-dog, you must have been drunk off your ash," she laughed, empting the last of the whiskey into her glass and knocking it back before slamming the glass back onto the table before falling back onto the ground.

"I'm pretty sure of the three us, you're the drunkest one by far," I said to her while looking over at the empty glass bottle of whiskey she single handedly drank down. "Isn't that correct Shizuo-kun?" I looked over at where he sat, quietly nursing a bottle of milk while he looked calmly over at Amai as she giggled drunkenly and rolled on the floor.

"I tooooold you~ I needed to be screwed to smell the play." Shizuo looked over at me with one brow raised questionably at Amai's slurred, drunken sentence.

"Hammered to listen to the story," I clarified causing Shizuo to nod in understanding before standing up from his seat on the floor and walking to the kitchen, grabbing an empty glass from one of the cupboards and filling it with water. He came back with the full glass and set it in front of Amai before sitting down.

'_That's strange, I didn't know Shizuo-kun could be so calm. Is it Amai? Is she a magician?'_

"Misa-chan~ you don't have to worry about nii-san. He's a, umm, moron, but he'll do the right thing," she said directing my attention away from Shizuo as she sat back up and looked at the glass of water in front of her. "Shizu-chan~! When did you get here?"

"_That's not my name_," he growled.

'_Maybe Amai's magic, he would've yelled at me if I said that,'_ I thought, looking between the two of them as Amai leaned too far back and Shizuo placed a large hand on her back to push her forward to keep her from choking on her water. Then the line formed. The relationship line I could practically see between the two of them. Friends? Possibly, but Amai doesn't make friends that easily, she makes enemies. And since this guy obviously isn't an enemy and isn't exactly her friend…were they sweet on each other? Or maybe they're too naïve to get past the friend-zone. While it was obvious I could ask Amai since she was in this vulnerable…I mean _truthful_ state, I couldn't since Shizuo was sitting right there and could block the question. Or would he? I know Kasuka told me about Shizuo's dilemma, and that he wanted to find out the truth behind Amai's actions. Would he stop me?

No. Shizuo's not the type to take advantage of a drunk girl, no matter how much she pisses him off and confuses him.

'_Shit, this much over-thinking can't be good for the baby. I should wrap this visit up quick.'_ Just as I was about to announce I was leaving, Amai suddenly stood up, both hands covering her mouth as she rushed from the room and through a door to wherever his bathroom was. Distinct sounds of vomiting were heard from the bathroom before Shizuo closed the door to his bedroom, effectively blocking the atrocious sounds.

"Thanks. With the morning sickness, it's even harder to hear another person throwing up," I said aloud, taking a few gulps of my drink before looking over at him. "You're brother says 'hi' by the way."

"Hm, yeah," he muttered looking a little flustered at the mention of his brother. "So you're pregnant? Congratulations," he said absentmindedly.

"Guess who the father is. The brother of the girl throwing up her lunch. How's that for a drama?" I said jokingly. "Could you do me a favor and keep Drunk Amai away from phones for awhile? This is the sorta news that the father should only hear from the mother, ya know?" I said softly patting my belly and feeling a small kick in return. "Ah! He's kicking! Do you want to feel?" I asked before realizing where I was when I saw his face. "Ah, sorry, didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Are you waiting to feel your own child kick?"

"That's a nice thought, but I don't think that'll be possible," he said looking shyly away. Was it me or was he looking towards the bedroom door?

"Don't think it's impossible until it's unforeseeable," I told him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's still within sight," I told him as Amai stumbled into the room, holding her stomach in a sick manner.

"What's within sight?" she asked, looking a bit less drunk than before.

"The baby's kicking! Do you want to feel?" I asked her, easily avoiding her question. I had no doubts that she would forget immediately.

"Yes! Yes!" she cried excitedly, stepping over quickly and kneeling down beside me, putting her hand where mine had been a moment ago on my protruding belly. "Ahh~ Misako-chan, you're so lucky~ I wanna have a kid, too~ A sweet little baby all my own," she said, practically crying out of pure joy and happiness as the baby kicked beneath her hand.

"What?" both Shizuo and I said, both equally surprised at this sudden confession from such a tough woman.

"What? Oh! It's such a surprise! The hard-ass bitch wants to be a mom?! _Sooo_ unpredictable! Yeah! I have dreams too! Come on bitches! I'll take you on! Not you Misako, you're pregnant," she ranted standing up from her place on the floor and putting up her fists threateningly towards Shizuo.

"No, no, Amai-chan, it's just that it was a surprise to hear is all. I didn't think you were the type to want a family," I said to her, standing up with some difficulty to stand before her.

"Well…we all have our surprises now, don't we," she said crossing her arms with a pout on her face.

"I don't think you two know much about each other at all," I said conclusively, walking towards the door. "Maybe this week will be good for the two of you," I said to them over my shoulder before walking out of the apartment and leaving two oblivious people to themselves to sort each other out.

Shizuo's POV

"Ya know, I think she's right." I heard her say as she sat back down by the coffee table.

"How do you know that?" I asked her, leaning away from the wall I leaned on in favor of sitting in front of her.

"Well, like, the most I knows about you is what I've seen and experienced. Ya knows, the super anger issues you's got and the, like, appearance and whatnot," she said, sounding as drunk as she was before. "And I'm pretty sure that you's sees similar thing on me."

"I know you have brothers," I said, not volunteering the fact that I, too, have a younger brother.

"No, but not how many~" she said smugly, why I don't know. "'cause I got Patrick and he's twenty-nine. And thens I got Colm an' Kichiro an' they're both twenty-sixes. An' I gots Kazuhiro and Carney an' they'res both eighteen. An' you've met Sora an' he's fifteen. He's the youngest an' he's so cute~" she rambled, gushing about her youngest brother by the end. _Six? _She has _six_ brothers?

"What abouts you? Any siblings?" she asked me laying her head down on the wood of the table and looking up at me out of the corner of her eye.

"One younger brother," I answered, feeling my eyebrow twitch a bit for an unknown reason.

"See? Now we're getting somewheres," she replied, spreading her pale lips in a too big smile. "So, what do you do for work?" Didn't she ask me this last time she was drunk?

"I've told you before, but I'm a body guard for a debt collector," I said to her, exercising a patience I never knew I had with her. "What about you, what do you do?"

"Like you Shizu-san, I, too, am a bartender, only instead of working at a debt collection agency, I work in a gay club during the night light hours, and work in a bakery in the day light hours," she said pulling her face up from the table to look me in the eye.

'_What's with her? Is this just because she's drunk?'_

"Hey, are you going to be jealous of the women at the club, too? 'cause, I'm not going to lie, there are some real bitches there," she said suddenly, pushing herself up onto her knees and leaning forward with her hands on the table towards me. Wait, what was she doing? When did her face get so close to mine? What's-what's with her shirt? Wa-was is that low before?

"What-what are you talking about?" I asked her stuttering, feeling my face heat up as I tried to divert my eyes away from her, um, chest.

"Well, since you was so jealous of Hikaru-chan, you know, the womans in the picture, I'm gonna lets you in on the bigger picture." Why was she whispering? Was she sobering up and gaining a hangover? "Yes, I do get hit on womens at the club. But don't worry, most of them are cougar bitches. So don't worry, I'm not leaving you for them. You're still my special guy," she said tapping my nose with each word as if enunciating this statement. There's something wrong with her. No one's this drunk. Not enough to do this.

"Uhh…Amai, do you…like me?" I asked her hesitantly, knowing that she probably wouldn't remember any of this anyway. She smiled then, not as big a smile as before, but big enough to make my heart pound in anticipation of her answer. She raised her hand as if to answer, but put it down flat on the table, using it as leverage as she stood up in a rushed sort of way.

"I'll be right back, I have to puke again," she said quickly as she ran to the bathroom, leaving me wondering what she would have said. What she was feeling. What the hell she was doing to me and why it made me feel as frustrated as when the deadbeats at work gave the same lame-ass excuses for not paying back their debts.

'SHIT!_ Why am I letting this girl live in my house?!'_

_DRRR!_

Amai's POV

'_Oh God~ did I drink that entire bottle of whiskey?'_ I thought feeling miserable as I sat up from the tiled floor of the bathroom, a towel folded under my head and a sheet covering my body. Pushing the heel of my hand against my aching temples I looked at where I lay, drawing conclusions from what I found. _'At least I didn't wake up hugging the toilet seat again. There's a Christmas I'll never get back.'_

Standing up from the floor warily and shakily, I approached the door to the bedroom, seeking both a comfortable bed to lie in and a clock for which to read the time.

From what I could see in the dark, the clock read almost three a.m. I wouldn't say I was surprised, but I was shocked that I'd probably slept around twelve hours. Feeling out were Shizuo lay on the bed, I slid back the covers carefully and sat down as quietly as I dared. When I settled in next to him, I heard him speak, albeit groggily.

"Are you done throwing up?"

"I don't know what that means, but my mouth tasted weird and my head hurts," I replied, pulling the covers up to my chin and closing my eyes, waiting for sleep to come again.

"Do you need an aspirin?

"Shizuo, I'm almost twenty-four, not twelve. I think I can handle a little head ache," I said a bit annoyed, but not ungrateful.

"You drank an entire bottle of whiskey by yourself. It shouldn't _be_ little," he argued. I felt him turn in bed and could practically feel his glare on my back

"It would be if you stopped talking," I answered, turning onto my back to look at him through the dark. He lay on his side, blonde hair visible in the near darkness and eyes half mast like when I triggered the calmness via his earlobe. It went silent after I spoke, neither one of us speaking or causing a sound. Just the steady rhythm of our breathing as we took the other in.

"Hey, lend me your body for minute," I said, disrupting the quiet.

"Wh-what?" he asked, seeming to awake up a bit at my odd sentence.

"Come on, I was sleeping on the floor you jerk. I'm cold. Lend me your body heat," I clarified turning onto my side and scooting myself closer to his body and wrapping my arms around his waist while I burrowed my face against his chest, his now uneven breath against my short red hair and the feel of his sweatpants against my skin.

"A-Amai, are you still drunk?" he asked, sounding more awake than ever as he placed his rough hands against my shoulder, ready to push me away or pull me in at a given notice.

"My head is pounding and I can hear my own thoughts without getting distracted. I think I'm pretty sober, Shizuo," I told him, not moving from my position. Not that I physically could, my body was too busy soaking in the delicious heat he was giving off, effectively warming my alcohol soaked bones. "Don't read too much into this, I just need the warmth." He 'hmphed' at this, sliding his hands from my shoulders to rest at my back, bringing me closer to him, as if that were possible.

''_don't read too much into this'. What a load of crap,'_ I thought, closing my eyes against his skin as we went back to sleep. _'I'm the one who shouldn't read too much into this.'_


	30. Chapter 30: Awkward (Rewrite)

**For those of you who have read this already, this is a rewrite, because, well, honestly after a few days the chapter didn't feel right to me. And honestly I like this version better. For those of you who have not read the previous version...disregard the previous sentence and continue on. Ciao~**

"Yes…thank you Momo-san…yes I am doing the pre-natal checkups…I have plenty of books for after the birth…thank you, I'll talk to you soon," Misa-chan said behind me while I munched on a pretzel and lazily watched the blonde bartender and his boss enter a not-too-shabby apartment building. Before I could turn my attention to the blonde and brown haired girl, I felt her hit my shoulder repeatedly, making me look at her with a confused expression at her pissed off face.

"Why did you give my number to your sister-in-law?! What if she tells Kichiro-kun?!" she asked shrilly, huffing and puffing at me as I went back to eating my pretzel.

"Okay one: oww~ Two: I thought you needed the opinion and experience of a woman who is close to giving birth and already has a child. And three: Momo-chan's cool. She won't rat us out to Kichiro. Especially since she owes me when I didn't sell her and Patrick out to my parents," I listed, rubbing my sore shoulder.

"Do all your relatives marry out of wedlock?" she asked me bewildered, one eyebrow raised as she looked at me from across the table.

"No, just the ones that care," I answered, watching as several items, including one middle-aged man went flying out the window before either crashing into the next building or onto the street. Misa-chan was silent after that, watching with me as the man frantically clung to the lamp post and Shizuo came out of the building, Tom-san trailing behind him hesitantly as they made their way to the lamp post more than a block away from the café Misa-chan and I currently sat in.

"Hey Amai, is your sister-in-law's name Momo, or is it a nickname? She sounded surprised when I said her name, and I was just wondering why," Misako suddenly asked, quietly sipping her tea as we watched Shizuo violently rip the lamp post out of the ground and swing it around himself, flinging the man into the concrete near the café window. Rather, Misako watched, I however gazed in awe at this awesome show of strength and unbridled fury that radiated off this tall blond man, smiling widely when he threw the lamp post away as if it were a piece of trash. Maybe it was all the rough-housing dad and my brothers did with me as a child. Maybe it was the continuous fights at school that turned me into a fight-loving freak.

"It's a nickname since she doesn't like her real name all that much."

"What's her real name?"

"Mononoke," I said simply, stuffing the last of my pretzel in my mouth as I watched the bartender man pick up the Mr. Cheap Suit, seemingly talking to him threateningly. Misako didn't say anything after that, either because she didn't find it surprising that a woman with such a name married into my malicious, sadistic family, or because she didn't have anything more to say about it. Somehow it seemed fitting for a woman with that name to marry into a superstitious family whose only reason for being here was because of an Irish fairy. For a few minutes it was blissfully quiet, the only sounds being the mindless drone of random people inside and outside the shop. Sadly, Misako felt the need to break that silence.

"I can't believe you've been doing this the last four days. If I were on break then I wouldn't be stalking someone."

"Well, you _are_ on break, and you've been spending it with me while torturing yourself over how to tell my brother you're pregnant," I told her, looking at her with a look that was half "in your face" half "you're unbelievable".

"Okay, granted I don't have anything to do, couldn't you be using your time more wisely? Like, oh, I don't know, move back in with your transsexual roommate so things don't get more awkward between you and the guy you're in love with?" she asked pointedly.

"I'm not in love with him," I told her, glaring at her. "And besides, my roommate won't let me come back until the week is over with."

"Shizuo-kun said that you didn't want to interrupt his bliss."

"Yeah, that's the half-truth. When I called him from the train station, he threatened to set my clothes and stuff on fire if I came home early and embarrassed Naoki-san. So I'm kind of stuck with Shizuo for the last two days. The week hasn't been that bad anyway."

"Shizuo-kun said he dragged you out of bed twice by your ankle and that you threw an empty bottle of vodka at the wall…that he was standing in front of."

"First of all the thing with the bottle was because he brought up some personal issues and second of all, I did not know that Shizuo would take the stalking thing seriously," I told her, recalling how yesterday Shizuo attempted to wake me up so I could make do on my threat, only to hang me in the air by my foot while he stared down at me with a slightly annoyed expression.

"Shizuo-kun sai-"

"'Shizuo-kun said this', 'Shizuo-kun said that'. Hey, I have an idea! How about you tell my brother that you're knocked up! I've noticed you've been putting that off," I said to her, pissed with how chummy she was with Shizuo. Jealous? Perish the thought, as if I'd be jealous.

"How about you admit to yourself that you're in love with Shizuo? I've noticed that you've been ignoring your obvious attraction to him," she retorted with an 'in-your-face' attitude.

"It is not obvious! I mean…what attraction?" I said, smacking myself within my mind repeatedly for making such a point blank statement.

"Looks like Shizuo-kun is coming this way," Misako said pointing out the window.

"Seriously?" I asked, looking out the window to where she pointed at the disgruntled blonde and the dreadlocked man as they walked away from us down the street.

"Say a word about this to anyone, _especially_ Shizuo, and I'll tell Kichiro myself about your and his's blunder," I threatened her, glaring at her from across the table.

"Will you stop calling my child, your future niece or nephew, a blunder!" she said, glaring at me slightly.

"I define blunder as getting pregnant despite using protection."

"Yeah…define protection," she said nervously, playing with the tips of her fingers.

"Protection: condoms, birth control, morning after pill…" I trailed off, seeing her grow more and more nervous with each method. "Misako, that is literally the only thing they teach in sex-ed class, and you couldn't even follow that _one_ rule?"

"Keep making fun of me and I'll tell Shizuo that you still have his underwear."

"Do you want me to wait for you while you finish your drink? Or should I leave you in peace?" I asked her irritated that she had trapped me in a corner.

"Feel free to go ahead. Rushing like this isn't good for my health," she told me, however I caught the last bits by a slim margin as I rushed out the door and down the street, chasing after the bartender while at the same time trying to keep my cover. It's not like I used a disguise, if I used a hat to cover my bright hair, it would be just as flashy since it was red, and I couldn't use a trench coat since I didn't own a trench coat. Sunglasses were out since the only pair I could get my hands on was currently being used by my target. Actually, now that I think about it as I jogged down the street, keeping a safe twenty foot distance form Shizuo, this whole stalking thing was ridiculous since the stalkee was not supposed to know he was being stalked by the stalker. _'Hmm, maybe I should have stuck with mom's original plan and not told him I was stalking him until I got caught purposely on the second day and then every day after that,'_ I thought, pulling my hoodie up and turning around swiftly when Shizuo looked back, either because of me, or because of someone else.

Right when I was about to turn, my phone went off, startling me and several people around me as I looked for my phone wildly before finding it in the pocket of my hoodie. "Ah, yeah, hello?" I said, taking on a ridiculous male voice in hopes of keeping my pathetic disguise.

"_Amai? God! I didn't think it was possible but your male voice actually got worse!"_ Kichiro said insulting me.

"What do you want lame-ass?" I asked him dropping the voice all together.

"_Amai, I am in some deep shit,"_ he said, sounding miserable and pissed at the same time. _"I mean, I didn't know this would happen! God! I can't believe this happened!"_

'_Crap, how did he find out already? Momo-chan only found out this morning! Word couldn't have spread around this fast.'_

"Well what'd you expect? It's 'cause you mess around so much that you're not careful," I said mentally preparing myself to ream him if need be.

"_I thought I _was_ being careful! Ah, man, I can't face them, I can't. Oh, god! They're going to kill me,"_ he moaned, his voice dropping an octave to pathetic in thoughts of to what degree Dad would kill him.

"Look, the best thing you can do right now is take responsibility and tell them what happened," I told him, leaning back against a lamp post.

"No!_ There's no way I'm taking responsibility for this! I'd rather die than have them find out what I did!" _he said, his picking up an octave, back to its usual do or die self.

"_You fucking asshole._ _That's_ your answer? You'd better damn well take responsibility dumbass!" I yelled at him, not caring as I received questionable looks from the people around me.

"_No, you don't understand. You've never been in my position before,"_ he argued.

"No, but I damn well know when to take fucking responsibility. And if you don't take responsibility for your unborn child, _I'll shove my boot so far up your ass, you'll be spitting shoelaces for a month!_" I screamed at him, so pissed off I could practically feel steam pouring out of my ears.

It was quiet after that, so I figured it was one of two things. That he was either stunned into silence or that he was thinking about my words. Little did I know that there was a third option that was similar to the second.

"'_Unborn child'? The hell are you talking about?" _he asked, genially confused.

"The baby you are currently having Misa-chan. What…what are you talking about?" I asked, feeling unsure of myself and really awkward after hearing his confusion.

"_I crashed Carney's car in the city this morning! What the fuck do mean I'm having a baby?! And with Misako?!"_ he exclaimed, sounding a bit pissed. My mind went blank as I thought of various ways to explain to him calmly the situation between him and Misa-chan. Unfortunately I couldn't think of a damn one.

"Uhh…the voice says I'm almost out of minutes," I said pathetically, my mouth talking for me as I pulled the phone away from my ears as I heard him yell at me to explain and called me bitch before I hung up on him. _'Okay, as long as Misako doesn't find out, I should still be alive,'_ I thought, turning my phone off and tucking it away quickly as I spotted Misako walking towards me.

"Hey, thanks for waiting up. Where's Shizuo-kun?" she asked me as she approached, looking behind me at the spot where Shizuo no longer was.

"Eh, ah, um, I'll find him latter. You know, flying vending machines and all," I responded feeling uncomfortable. "Hey, do you want to catch a movie? Dark place, no cell phones, definitely no outside contact?" I asked her, pulling out my widest smile, teeth and all.

"Yeah, sure. My friend Kasuka has a new movie out."

"Kasuka?" I asked confused. I wasn't exactly an expert on all things concerning movie stars, but I've never heard of the name Kasuka before.

"Oh right! You're not in on it. You know Kasuka as Yuuhei Hanejima, but his real name's Kasuka Heiwajima," she said, whispering to me excitedly and looking overjoyed at the confused expression on my face as I took in her words.

"I think I've heard you wrong. Did you say Heiwajima?"

"Yeah, Shizuo's brother."

"No, that's not right, Shizuo doesn't ha-…wait. I think I remember something from my drunken stupor last week," I muttered, trying like hell to remember what had transpired. Before I could place my finger on it though, something happened. Something terrible.

As I worked on remembering what I most likely forgot, Misako suddenly lurched forward, bumping into me as she stumbled, caught off balance by the slicked back blonde man wearing a yellow butterfly t-shirt, and tan jacket. Catching her before she could fall any further I reassured myself of her safety before turning my attention to the snickering douche bag, straightening Misako on her feet before grabbing his shoulder to either ask him what the hell his problem was, or if he had a death wish-which I would fulfill should he choose the wrong answer.

"Hey. You got an illness in your brain or something? Why don't you watch where you're going," I snarled, glaring at him when he turned around to face me.

"Why don't you tell your fat friend to watch where she stands since she takes up half the street?" he snickered, several of his buddies laughing with him. I reached my hand up to tightly pinch my earlobe feeling a wave of calm rush and wane throughout my body as I glared angrily at the dickwad in front of me.

"I already gave my _pregnant _friend my word not to cause her unnecessary stress today, so I'll give you one chance to apologize before I rearrange your ugly face into a pile of shit," I said, sounding strangely calm since this was the proverbial "eye of the storm". Behind me Misako tried to disengage the time bomb that was me

"You little bitch! Do you know who we are?" he yelled bringing up a feeling of déjà vu. Was this prick the same guy from two years ago? The same gangster wannabe that came barking my first day on the job?

"You wanna see if I care?" I asked before losing my sanity altogether and throwing my arm forward to make the delicious sound of crunching happen as it connected with his face. As he fell backward, red pouting out of his nose, and dripping off me knuckles, his friends retreated back a few steps, suddenly afraid of the raging bitch that was me as I stepped forward onto his outstretched leg and pressed down enough to hurt. "It would have been easier to apologize than to go through physical therapy. Just so you know," I told him before bending down to grab his neck.

_DRRR!_

"I don't see why you had to intervene the second time. You were all for me kicking his ass the first time," I complained crossing my arms and tapping my foot impatiently as Shizuo unlocked the door and turning back to me.

"'cause the cops were coming and you didn't have a good enough reason," he responded, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder, walking into the apartment.

"I think defending my friend from the douche bag gang banger was a good enough reason," I retaliated as he walked through the apartment and set me down on his bed. "Hey, thanks again for walking Misako home, and…thanks again for carrying my home when my ankle gave out…even though it's completely fine and was a total fluke."

"Mhmm," he murmured not believing a word I said, disappearing inside the bathroom and reappearing with the first-aid kit and a wet rag.

"No, seriously, my leg was fatigued and it fell asleep when I was walking," I said, trying to unsuccessfully convince him than my ankle truly was healed. He leaned down, placing the kit beside me on the bed and wiping the splatters of blood off my face roughly. After two hours blood tends to dry and sorta stick there incessantly. Watching him focus hard on the job at hand, it reminded me of Misako and his conversation an hour or two prior to now when they were twenty or thirty feet ahead of me as I walked behind them, pouting and sulking at the loss of my obvious victory when I had had to concede and run away before the cops arrived. When I saw Misako laugh happily and tease him incessantly, obvious from the way he continuously turned his head away and the how he seemed to stuff his hands deepened into his pockets and lean forward, as if trying to shield himself from Misako's words. The tip of the iceberg that was my growing annoyance was when he seemed to say something to her that made her smile grow even larger than it already was and clap her hands in excitement and look back at me before looking back at him and seemingly conversing with him in secret, which also increased my confusion.

"Hey Shizuo, what were you and Misako talking about?" I asked him as he wiped the last of the blood from my face.

"Nothing important," he answered as if to end the conversation there.

"Didn't seem like nothing with the whispering and the laughing and the pointing at me. Reminds me of school," I noted dully, falling back on the bed. "So you're seriously not going to tell me what you guys were talking about," I asked making it sound more like a statement. He didn't answer, choosing to ignore what I said like I was a hyper-active child wearing out their more-dead-than-alive parents while he threw the blood soaked rag in an unknown corner of the bathroom before coming back to unwrap a plaster and stick it to my face. My overly jealous, suspicious side took advantage of my mind and asked the questions I didn't have the gut to ask.

"So Misako's pretty great, how'd ya meet her?" I asked him as he roughly applied another band-aid to my forehead.

"Works with my brother sometimes," he said simply. This sum'bitch was wearing my nerves down to the nub with the short-ass answers.

"Really? You two seem a lot more…chummy for you to know each other through your brother," I commented, he shrugged nonchalantly, his sun-glass-less eyes giving nothing away as they focused on the task of clumsily patching me up. _'Is it me? Or is he going a little overboard?'_ I thought as he applied a butterfly band-aid to a scratch mark made on my cheek from when the butterfly bastard pulled a knife on me towards the end of the skirmish. By that part Shizuo stepped in, saying something about pulling out a gun at a knife fight and cheating bullshit.

"Do you have a crush on her or something?" I asked, hoping to get some sort…emotion out of him.

"No." Bastard didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Soooo you don't have a thing for short girls?"

"I didn't say that." I was closer this time; I got a small eye twitch.

"Soooo you don't have a thing for girls with short, discolored hair?"

"Discolored?"

"Ya know, blond, multicolored…red," I clarified, throwing 'red' in as another color specification. He looked at me, like he was trying to see through my somewhat vague questions.

"I like girls with short, discolored hair," he said looking directly at me.

I got flustered, my better judgment fighting my inner girl for dominance and control and keeping 'Do you have a thing for me?' looked inside forever until it decomposed under the weight of its own connotations as mice and rats feasted on the remains of its everlasting question. No, I won't be the one to ask, and reveal that I like him first.

"So…Misako's pregnant! How-how weird is that?" I asked randomly, waving my arms around for no apparent reason other than to distract him and myself from the tension spreading between us. He continued to look at me, this time a little surprised and confused by my sudden outburst and change of subject. He seemed to mentally shake it off though and stood up swiftly, picking up the first-aid kit before retreating back into the bathroom.

"It doesn't sound that weird," he said, his voice echoing slightly in the tile lined bathroom.

"Well I was recently informed that there was no contraception used in their, uh, love making and they have a pretty complicated relationship as is," I replied, swinging my legs back and forth and letting them fall back to hit the box spring. "Hey, can I ask a guys opinion from you?" He grunted as a sort of response, a response I took to mean 'yes'.

"If you were to have sex with a girl that isn't exactly your friend, but you guys consider yourselves fairly close, and if said girl were to get pregnant, what would you do?" I asked. It wasn't hypothetical, but somehow while I was saying all this, it sounded like it was.

"If _I_ were to have sex with a girl?" I nodded. "I don't think that would ever happen," he said, coming out of the bathroom, vest unbuttoned and bow tie unclipped.

"Why not?" I was genuinely confused. From my standpoint the guy was a jackass what with the violent outbursts, general violence, confusing attitude, and otherwise ridiculously soft, soft side he kept pretty well hidden. But hell, that described the better half of my family; ironically the worse half was my mom's side. Honestly I have four relatives on her side in prison for arson alone.

"There isn't one girl in this country that would spend the night with me, sex or otherwise." He looked away from my, down to his sock covered feet, whether in sadness or not I couldn't tell. But the gesture alone made me blurt out the most obvious thing.

"That's not true, I've been doing that this whole week," I said softly, making him look up in slight surprise, like he wasn't aware of this fact himself despite the fact that he had spent the better part of four mornings prying my half-asleep body off of him so he could get up and eat. I smirked up at him, making him smirk back at me as he shifted his weight to his other foot.

"What about you?" he asked me.

"Hmm?"

"What would you do in that situation?"

"Pfft, that wouldn't happen to me," I laughed, taking my hat off of my head to ruffle the short locks there. Fortunately my hair was starting to grow back to its natural length, for now it was shoulder length and annoying as hell to keep out of my mouth, unlike my long hair that mostly just hung there.

"Why not?" he asked me arching an eyebrow at my vague answer. Yeah, like it wasn't annoying when he did that to _me._

"I only have sex with guys I'm in a committed relationship with. After my more than shameful first experience, it's become a type of rule with me," I replied, leaning back on my elbows as I looked up at him. "Except for if the guy is someone I really, really, really, really like," I added recalling a fellow team member on my high school baseball team I had previously been into.

"Four really's?" he asked, clarifying my add-on sentence.

"Yup, has to be four really's," I said humoring him.

"Then how many really's do you like me?" I looked at him blankly until I fully got the meaning of his words. Oh no, oh _hell_ NO! I will _not_ be the one to tell my feelings first!

"I, uh, gotta go water my cat…or something," I said making up a pathetic excuse and for some reason sticking by it when, after I sprang from the bed and grabbed my backpack full my stuff from the corner of the room farthest from the door and proceeded to exit the room, Shizuo grabbed my arm in a vice like grip, keeping me from leaving this tension filled hell-hole.

"Stop avoiding my questions and answer me honestly!" he said, tightening his grip slightly as I repeatedly yanked my arm in an attempt to remove myself from his hold.

"Dude! Seriously! If I don't water my cat, she'll dry out and her kittens will hate me forever!" I said, yanking my arm one final time before I changed my defense to offence and turned towards him planning to claw his fingers off my upper bicep or tire out trying. I'm not gonna die trying to get away from this topic of conversation, that'd be a little pathetic and sad. My plan didn't get carried out fully however. True, I did turn to him and place my hand on his fist, but that's as far as my plan got. The split second after I turned to him, he chose that moment to pull me towards him, his game plan unclear as I stumbled/pushed against him, making him go unbalanced as he caught me against his chest and held me there while he stumbled against the edge of his bed and sat down awkwardly with me held tight against his chest, our noses no more than a few centimeters away from each other.

I could feel his breath on my lips as they parted slightly, either because he wanted to say something but couldn't, or because he was slightly in shock at the present moment. His eyes flitted repeatedly between my lips and my eyes, seeming to linger longer on my lips. While a part of my mind, the way back that is, lingered on the fact that I was kneeling between his legs and could feel the delicious heat I only ever felt at night when I slept next to him, the rest of my mind was focused on oddness of his breath. That the acrid smell of nicotine and choking smell of ash somehow mixed well with the sweetness of some kind of dessert, pudding, or midday shake. Shit, no I was focused on his lips, too.

The moment continued to linger on, never settling on anyone emotion: tense, awkward, raw heat-filled emption that seemed indescribable. "I…I have to…I…" I stuttered slowly and incoherently as he continued to look in between my eyes and my lips until he focused solely on my lips, flicking now and then to my eyes as we slowly moved towards each other until our lips brushed together. A spark of heat and electricity ran through my lips as he pressed his against mine over and over again until they moved together in a sort of sick fashion that made me melt inside.

He tasted like he smelled, like nicotine and pudding and ash and caramel as he moved his lips in an awkwardly sort of way that was self-evident that he had never kissed a girl before. This made me feel happy and giddy inside, that I was the first to experience this inexperienced way of his that was warm and comforting and slow and sweet. I found myself missing the press of warm, wet skin against mine as he pulled away slightly and looked at me, just looked at me as his hands fidgeted at me back. I disentangled my hands from his soft blond hair, how they tangled themselves there I did not question since my eyes were closed the entire time.

"I…I'm sorry, I have to go," I said quietly, not looking at him as I slid away from him on the bed and picked up the bag I had dropped on the floor. I didn't spare his slightly disheveled appearance a glance as I walked out of the bedroom and, after a few steps, out of the apartment. I left his apartment, a little hurt that he didn't try to stop me.

_DRRR!_

My vacation lasted two weeks, and within those two weeks, I had seen my parents and younger brothers, punched my rapist in the nose, taken care of my little nephew, Daichi, and had stayed for five days with the "Strongest Man in Ikebukuro". There was no question that this was an eventful two weeks, and somewhere within me I felt that the last two days before the restart of my employment would be full of animosity and half naked men bumping and grinding against each other, unfortunately this would be at home and not at the club.

No more than an hour later I was standing inside the doorway of Taka-chan's apartment, shielding my less than innocent eyes from the intimate act being performed before me. Lucky me they hadn't taken their pants down yet, unlucky for me their zippers were down.

"For cripes sake! I've had enough of kissing for one day!" I exclaimed, putting my backpack in front of my eyes as I closed the door and walked sideways to the kitchen.

"Hey! If the couch is a rockin', don't come a'knockin'!" Taka-chan complained, not using his feminine voice, seeing as how he was wearing pants, today must have been his off day at work, one of the few moments when Taka-chan would trade in dresses and skirts for jeans and shorts.

"I'm so sorry Amai-chan, I didn't know you were back in town," Naoki-san said apologetically, removing himself from between Taka-chan's legs. Great, another reminder of my moment with Shizuo.

"No, it's fine, I've been back for this last week, I've just been staying with Shizuo," I told him, getting down a bottle of Sake and removing the top.

"Hey, hey, hey! What's with the hard liquor?" Taka-chan asked, a soft 'zip' sound heard behind me as he neared me, taking the open bottle from my hands and taking a swig of it.

"I've gone through more emotions than I care to count this week. Thank you for making this last day more awkward!" I accused him, swiping the bottle from him and taking a longer drink than he did before removing it from my mouth when he asked,

"What did I do?"

"You told me to stay away this week, and now I've got all these mixed up feelings and this awkward moment to add to all the other awkward moments I had with Shizuo!"

"Oh my God, what did you do? Please, please, please, _please_ tell me what you two did together and I will do anything you want!" Taka-chan begged, putting his hands together in a pleading gesture. I ran a hand through my short, messy hair, sighing in annoyance as I debated whether or not to tell him. I lost this battle when I saw Naoki pulling a pouting puppy move, his lower lip jutting out and silently begging me with his eyes as if he were asking for scraps.

"Okay, um, my friend, who knows Shizuo through his brother, was laughing, and giggling, and being a flirt with him, and after me and Shizuo dropped her off at her apartment, I tried to figure out what they were talking about," I said, giving in to their whim. Rubbing a hand over my face I silently watched as Taka-chan and Naoki passes the bottle back and forth between each other, hanging on my every word.

"Did he tell you?" Naoki asked me, placing the empty bottle on the kitchen table.

"No, he wouldn't tell me. I ended up asking him a lot of questions and then he turned the tables on me, and then we got into a smallish fight and then…I got out of hand…and we fell…and…" I said, struggling for words.

"Spit it out woman! What happened?!" Taka-chan yelled, shaking my shoulders violently.

"We fell on his bed and we ended up kissing!" I finally spit out, burying my face in my hands as I tried to hide my blush.

"_No. Way,_" Naoki said, his jaw dropping in shock while Taka-chan had the opposite reaction to my words.

"Wait, how did you fall on the bed?" Taka-chan asked.

"How is that relevant?" I asked him, speaking through my fingers.

"I want a mental image," he said defensively.

"I fell against him and ended up kneeling between his legs," I conceded, taking my hands away from my face, only to put them back up as he asked his next question.

"Did you feel it?" If his grin got any bigger, it would probably break his face.

"_Minori-san!_" Naoki exclaimed, looking surprised and pissed at Taka-chan.

"What?! I just want to know if he's big down there," Taka-chan said defensively before looking at me expectantly.

"That wasn't the part of his body I was focusing on!" I said, my face feeling too hot and too red as Taka-chan pouted at my lack of response to his embarrassing question before giggling like the girl he wasn't. Before long he and Naoki began fighting and my face gradually cooled down until it felt like the dying embers of a blazing fire. While Naoki questioned Taka-chan on his preferences towards male genitalia, and Taka-chan questioned Naoki-san of to what extent his jealousy stretched, my phone began to ring for the second time today. I hesitated, going through the narrow possibilities that it wasn't Shizuo. Taking it out of my pocket I barely glanced at the ID before flipping it open when I saw it was not Shizuo's number.

"_You. I am going to hunt you down, skin you alive, and use your hide as a blanket."_

"Okay, buddy, I have so many enemies, you're going to have to tell me who you are," I responded, leaning my hip against the counter as I watched Naoki and Taka-chan go from full fight mode to make-out central within ten minutes.

"_I just got a call from Kichiro-kun, and he said that you told him I'm pregnant. Get ready Tachibana Amai, your end is nearing,"_ she said before hanging up on me. I wasn't really sure what a pregnant woman could do to me in terms of ass-kicking, but if she was anything like Momo-chan, I'd expect a lot of neck-chocking and broken chairs. Yeah, my two week vacation was not over, not over by a long-shot.


	31. Chapter 31: Nicked

**No words can describe how much I hate writers block. Besides the words "I hate it" of course. Anyway, I have a really good idea of the next chapter so **_**hopefully**_** it'll be out next week. Until then, my lovelies~**

"I hate you."

"I'm not feeling so great about myself, but let's face it; this situation is all your fault," I whispered to him in the darkness of the bedroom.

"At least switch places with me. He's _my_ boyfriend, not yours, home wrecker," Taka-chan growled softly as to not wake Naoki-san up.

"No, and for two reasons. One: I don't want to wake Naoki-san up since he's been so nice to me lately, unlike you, Nosy Bastard. And two: if I switch places with you, it'll start out as spooning, then kissing, then you two doing it while I take my pillow out to the kitchen table and ending up with a hurt back," I explained feeling him glare heatedly at me through the darkness of the room.

"Just admit it, you're enjoying being spooned," he said looking through my hidden motivation to not move, besides the fact that the two reasons I gave were just as true.

"Sue me; you've been doing this for two weeks? I haven't done this in eight months. Not since my stupid ex-boyfriend dumped me," I muttered taking obviously delight in the embrace. However, the nagging piece of my mind kept telling me that Shizuo's embrace felt better.

"You can just sleep on the couch you know, I always clean it if there's a mess," he said.

"No, I saw what you two were doing on it, and I don't want to touch any part of that semen-infested thing," I replied while trying to free my arms from the locked bars that were Naoki's arms. I might've liked it, but he was too warm and too strong…it was kind of ironic that I didn't feel that way about Shizuo's embrace. Shizuo's body was kind of like the porridge from Goldilocks: not hot, not cold, just the right, delicious…temperature. And when he held me against him it felt like he was trying too hard not to crush me, too tense. Honestly he could hold me as tight as he wanted, my spine's been getting crushed ever since I was seven and my father stopped holding back when he hugged me. All-in-all it was a strength I was used to and it was a secure type of feeling.

"…You do realize that you're between two men on a bed that we've had sex on, right?"

"Yes, but I also know that you change the sheets afterwards," I said after successfully freeing my arms.

"Tch…have you seen Heiwajima-kun since…" he asked me, trailing off in an open ended question. While the first kiss I had shared with Shizuo had sent me running from him for a week, it had only been four days since I last saw him, and seeing as how uncanny it was that I saw him when I wasn't even looking, it led me to believe that he was avoiding me. Understandable since I felt the same way, but because this was a kiss that happened simply because we both wanted it, it was complicated. Me running out on him didn't help either, if anything it cause confusion and hurt to dwell inside of me that he hadn't tried to stop me. Me being confused and hurt made me a pissier person than I already was. All these factors contributed to the fact that I was currently being spooned by a giant, gay guy. Not that it didn't feel great.

"Five days counting today. Is it wrong of me to say that I miss him next to me at night?"

"Not at all, it's only because you haven't been close to anyone in months and you miss the physical contact of a person you feel close to," he said, placing a hand against my cheek in a somewhat comforting way that made me smile comfortingly at the amount of wisdom he was giving me. "And you know…the other thing."

"What other thing?" I asked, feeling stupid and embarrassed when he answered my question.

"Amai likes Shizuo~ Amai likes Shizuo~" he sang delightedly, removing his hand from my face to clap softly at my expense in obvious joy.

"I do not!" I argued only to get a second opinion.

"Oh honey, it's so obvious that you like him," Naoki said, his voice sounding rough and gravely thanks to being awakened.

I sighed, knowing this was an argument I couldn't win against such skilled opponents. "So what if I do, he'll never forget that I walked out on him after we kissed," I replied softly, burrowing back into the hot, bare chest of Naoki-san to warm up my suddenly cold body.

"Oh sweetie~ if he's any kind of man, he'll forget about that. You don't even have to worry," Taka-chan said, wedging an arm between Naoki-san's chest and my back to envelope me in a warm, comforting, cocoon of gay men.

"Thanks guys, now can we go back to sleep? I have to get up at six, remember?"

They didn't reply, choosing instead to silently consent to my request. I fell asleep soon after that, although I kept waking up to kick the blankets off of me when it got too hot.

_DRRR!_

I awoke to the sound of a bell being rung over the door of the bakery, and looked up from my slouched over position to find a slightly flustered Sonohara-san standing on this side of the door.

"…Um…Hi Sonohara-san…what can I do for ya?" I asked somewhat startled by her sudden appearance.

"Ah, Tachibana-san. C-could I trouble you to let me stay here for a while?" she asked me getting herself back together before bowing to me.

"No problem, I have an extended shift today so no one'll kick you out," I said smiling a reassuring smile at her. She nodded her head politely and took a seat by the back wall close to the see-through refrigerator stocked with cakes and drinks. A customer came in soon after and I paid her no mind after that until it was well over two hours since she had left school and arrived here. Within those two hours I had asked her questions, mainly to occupy each other and district myself from the creeping boredom I had somehow managed to fight off the last two years. So far, from what I had gather, classes were the same, Mikado and Masaomi were themselves, and nothing had changed since the last time I had seen the three of them, individually or otherwise. When six o'clock rolled around, signaling the end of my shift, I finally asked the question that had been eating at me since she had arrived.

"Sonohara-san, are you hiding out from someone?" I asked her from my seat on top of the glass case. This question took her by surprise and she fidgeted, somehow looking for an answer or, more obviously, a lie. Before she could answer however, I asked her a follow-up question.

"Is it the dork in the white-collared shirt in the café across the street? You know, the one who has been, not so subtly, staring out the window at us?" I asked catching her flinch.

"…He was following me home, and I've just been waiting for him to leave," she finally relented, glancing at me from the corner of her glasses. It struck a chord with me, the somewhat similar cases of sexual harassment from a teacher towards a student. As such, a plan formed within my mind to get rid of her stalker, for however temporary it may be. The only permanent solution involved murder and I didn't need that on my track record.

"Wait here, I'm going to get some satisfaction…and coffee," I told her before hopping off of the counter and clapping her on the shoulder. While my shift ended behind me, I headed out the door and across the street, trying not too hard to gain attention from the pervert sitting by the window.

It was a kind of small business-y place that somehow felt a little bit corporate in the way of how it was styled. Sleek silver counters, metallic coffee brewers, up-beat, techno interior. Basically it felt like being in a cold, metal box.

"Hello! Welcome to-oh, it's you Amai," the man behind the counter said, dropping the fake, perky attitude in favor of giving me a cold look that matched the interior of this place.

"Come on, we're sort of building neighbors! Couldn't you give me a more pleasant greeting?" I asked, not really trying to irritate him.

"Tell me what you want or get out," he replied staring coldly at me. It's not a rivalry thing, not even an enemy thing; he just thought that I would mess up his perfectly clean and debris-free café. Ever since I met Shizuo this made a lot more sense to me since I had no recollection of breaking anything other than noses and bones.

"Alright, alright, I'll have a large milk coffee and a large, piping hot cup of black coffee," I replied cheerfully in an attempt to counteract his cold behavior. He left in a huff and went to the coffee brewer on the back counter while I leaned nonchalantly against the counter seeing as how there was no one in line behind me and I was free to be up close and personal while I waited for my coffee.

"Okay, that's fifteen hundred and twenty-three yen," he said from behind me no less than five minutes later, during which time I glanced from time to time towards the bakery to see a not-so-clear view of Sonohara-san.

"Thaaaaank you~" I replied, dropping the crumpled bills into his waiting paw before taking the cups to the table next to pervert-san. I left them there and went to a cart laden with various extras for the coffee, taking with me several sugar packets and plenty of cream. I dropped them on the table and sat myself down in the chair beside the brunette teacher.

"Mmm~ don't you just loooove~ coffee?" I said absentmindedly, taking a sip of my favored drink and setting the black coffee to the side nearest to him.

"Huh? Yeah, it's great," he said, turning away from the window to face me as if his previous actions had never happened and had gone unnoticed.

"You know, I never used to like coffee, but my boyfriend goaded me into trying some, and now I can't get enough!" I gushed to him, pouring several packets of sugar and cream into my cup and stirring the mixture with a little wooden stick. "I'm sorry, I just sat down and interrupted your alone time. My bad. I'm Tachibana Amai, I work over at the bakery across the street," I said pointing at the pink and yellow sign above the door and below the upper levels were Miss Yuumi and her family lived.

"This is embarrassing, you must have seen me staring earlier," he said, smiling sheepishly and fidgeting slightly with the edge of his downed coffee cup that couldn't have been drunk no less than an hour ago.

"Can't say I blame you, the desserts _are_ as delicious as they appear," I replied, leading him into a false sense of security that his pervy ways had not been discovered. I drank deeply from my cup while he started asking me some BS about the different types of cakes we made. When I had had enough of his mindless dribble, I swatted my hand against the coffee I had set aside, my nail catching the edge of the cover and providing me a more satisfying show as the liquid inside splattered and turned his pure white shirt into light brown mess and burned the crotch of his pants, causing him to stand up alarmingly fast and attempt to wipe away the liquid. Unlike the others inside the small shop, I did not gawk nor, in the case of a couple teenagers, laugh hysterically. No, instead I set down my coffee and stood up in front of him, roughly pushing him down into the metal seat and raising my foot to mercilessly crush the twig and berries beneath his wet pants. While he yowled in surprise, I grabbed the color of his ruined shirt and brought him close, whispering in his ear while he twitched in pain.

"If I ever see you within a square mile of Sonohara-san, I'll beat you into such a bloody pulp, they won't even be able to identify you. Do I make myself clear?" I asked him, when he did not respond, I shook him roughly and asked him again. "I said: _Are we clear?_" When he nodded vigorously I stepped off his bits and pieces and grabbed my half-empty coffee cup, downing it all and throwing it into the garbage can before taking my leave of the room of gawking pedestrians. It wasn't until halfway across the street that I found out two things. One: the teacher left the building no later than a minute after I had left him with my colorful message. And two: I had referred to Shizuo as my boyfriend, and while the desperate/alone/affection-hungry part of me rejoiced at that, the less crazy part of me knew I was in a kind of emotional blockage. My only option was to talk it out, but I'd be damned if I let that nosy bastard, Taka-chan, anywhere near my love life…again.

"Okay, it's temporary, but I suggest-huh?" I said, before looking around the shop and discovering it empty save for the bread and desserts in the baskets and display cases. Guess she left while I was gone. Shaking it off I grabbed my stuff from underneath the cash register and said my goodbye's to Miss Yuumi before heading out the door.

While on a regular night, regular for me that is since none of the shit I went through was _normal_ per se, I would be knee deep in drink orders and color-blinding lights, tonight I was on my own for a few hours. All of which I would take advantage of to get my mind in order. More specifically my feelings, which made me want to tear my hair out and scream to my heart's content.

A few seconds later I did. However, it wasn't voluntary, more so it was the knife at my throat that made me scream in surprise.

"Did I scare you Amai-chan?" Izaya drawled, lazily scraping the edge of the blade against my neck, his arm around my waist holding me against him.

"Not hardly. The blade was cold, that's all," I replied, looking at him out of the corner of my eye. It wasn't exactly a lie, the blade was cold, and his personality would put a demon to shame.

"Really, I wonder how you would react if I was a real killer," he said absentmindedly, the tip of his knife making its way to the base of my throat.

I should really rethink taking side roads and alleyways on my way home.

"For as much as I know about you, you might be," I said, my eyes darting forward to the crowd of people walking past the mouth of the alley, no more than thirty feet from where I stood.

"True, but aren't we both in the long run of things?" he said. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know what he was getting at.

"I'm not the thing killing my mother."

"Cigarettes. The so-called "Cancer Sticks"," he said removing his arm from around my waist, but keeping the hand that held the blade against my throat.

"If you saw the pain it causes, you wouldn't call it "so called"."

"No, but you do think that it's your fault."

"It was her choice."

"Is that what you say? Or what they tell you?" he asked quietly in my ear, pressing the knife more tightly against my throat.

"It's…" I wanted to say it's what I thought, but the words wouldn't come out, and it wasn't because of the knife threatening to slit my throat 'les I lie.

"Hyperactive children are a pain, aren't they? And to have to deal with seven brats at once? Great cause of stress I'd say."

"Shut up."

"And you didn't help at all, did you? Fights at school, fights at home, suspensions, detentions, juvenile facilities…you were one big ball of stress for her, weren't you."

"Shut up."

"It's no wonder she had to smoke so much to get rid of the stress. And then you being raped? That would've killed her even faster."

"_I said shut up!_" I shouted, forcing my arm back I elbowed him in the gut and ran forward when he stumbled back a few steps. Not even caring that the knife nicked my neck, I ran out of the alley and down the street, ignoring the stares that followed me as I ran. It was when my arm was wrenched back behind me that I finally stopped. I looked behind me and found the last person I wanted to see at that moment.

"Amai, are you okay?" he asked me, gripping my wrist so I wouldn't run away again.

"…Not really," I replied, letting my arm go slack as I rested my weight on my heels, signifying to him that I wasn't going anywhere.

"Why is your neck bleeding?" he asked me, reaching his free hand up to his own to point to where I could now feel a trickle of blood running down my collarbone.

"Ah, yeah, I ran into someone. They had a knife. Guess they sorta nicked me when I ran," I answered him, reaching a hand up to touch the cut. "I should go home and clean it up." I made to leave, but he tightened his grip on my wrist, not allowing me to leave and run away as I please anymore.

"Yo Tom, I'm gonna quit for tonight. I'll see you tomorrow," he said to the man standing beside him, looking awkwardly away from me.

"Yeah, sure. See ya," he said, waving lazily before walking away down the street behind me. I envied that bastard. For one thing he was free to walk away. After he left, I said nothing to Shizuo, he, however, said something to me.

"You left your violin at my house." The sentence, while somewhat expected, kind of caught me off guard.

"Umm, yeah. I don't know why but I forgot to grab when I…" I trailed off, not knowing how to put a good spin on "ran away".

"Ran away?"

"Yeah, that. Is it okay if I come by and get it?" I asked timidly, trying not to look at him. He said nothing, choosing instead to turn towards the direction of his house and started walking, pulling me along behind him. "Shizuo, I can get it at a better time, it doesn't have to be now," I tried to explain, but he tugged me further ahead, closer to him while we walked.

"Your neck is bleeding, you have to get it bandaged," he said. All I could see of his face were the edge of the blue sunglasses which, for obvious reasons, didn't make sense.

"I can just go home and ban-" I started to say, only to be interrupted by him.

"My house is closer." It was a childish argument, but I went along with it anyway. About twenty minutes later we arrived at the place where my troubles started. While he unlocked the door, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before: Shizuo was smoking. I inwardly grimaced but said nothing about the fact choosing to cut him some slack after the day I've had.

"Sit anywhere, I'll get the first-aid kit," he said, walking towards the bathroom after we had entered his apartment. Like before, the only place to sit was on the floor; I didn't mind it in the least and sat in front of the coffee table. Less than five seconds later I regretted sitting there when I saw the pack of smokes sitting in front of me. Glancing quickly at the open bedroom door, I stood up, grabbed the half empty pack and went to the only window in the room. After I slid the window pane up, and before I could throw the cigarettes out the window and into the street Shizuo's voice made me pause.

"What are you doing?" I glanced back at him and saw him standing in the doorway, first-aid kit in hand and a quizzical expression on his face.

"_Hey!_ Will you stop doing that?! You're making me waste my money every time you take my cigarettes," he said angrily, stalking over to me and swiping the pack from my hand, stuffing them away in the pockets of his slacks.

'_You were wasting it before you even met me,'_ I thought, not daring to voice this opinion in favor of saving myself from a probable argument.

"Hey Shizuo, why do you smoke?" I asked him despite thinking that this might also lead to an argument.

"I don't know," he replied, sitting down besides the table and placing the kit on top of it. He looked at me pointedly and I got that he wanted me to sit down in front of his while he worked on my neck.

"Is it 'cause of stress?" I asked taking a stab in the dark based on what I had seen, heard, and figured from his job description.

"I guess."

"Have you ever thought about a different way of relieving the stress?" I asked him, making him pause from wiping the blood off of my neck to look at me.

"Why are you asking?" I continued to look down at my feet, choosing not to answer him. "Is it because of your mom?" I shook my head a little before nodding it.

"My mom lost her lung a few years ago, and now the cancer's back and it's slowly killing her. In a few months she won't be around to see her grandchildren anymore," I said quietly, not daring to lift my head.

"Is that why you hate cigarettes?" he asked, out of the corner of my eye I saw him reach into the kit and take out a roll of gauze. I nodded a little before continuing.

"It's also why I hate myself." His fingers stopped picking at the edge of the gauze, and I felt his stare at the top of my head as I continued to look down. I didn't need him to ask me, I could feel he wanted to know through the silence. "I was the absolute worst kid anyone could have had. I got into fights, I beat people up, I constantly got suspended from school, and for what? So people wouldn't take me lightly and walk all over me. She started smoking after my second suspension when I was nine. Dad called me a scrapper, Mom called me a troublemaker," I finished, looking up at him to see what he would do or say.

He didn't say anything; he instead unwound the gauze and started tying it around my neck. When he was done, he tied off the end and stood up, taking the kit with him. With his back to me, he spoke.

"It's not your fault."

"Huh?" I asked, looking up surprised and confused at him.

"You were just being yourself. So you shouldn't blame yourself for a decision she made on her own," he said, looking down at me from the corner of his eye before disappearing into the bathroom.

'_Shouldn't hate myself for being myself? Big words coming from you, Strongest Man in Ikebukuro,' _I thought, smirking at the door he had left through. Thinking bitterly that the next conversation and the one after that that would be like an emotional colonoscopy, slow and painful but would reveal all about ourselves, I stood up and went to the doorway, seeing him standing on the opposite side of the room, his back to me as he faced the wall. He turned to look at me and I saw, in his hands, the red stained violin case.

"Here," he said to me after placing the case in my hands. I looked at the shiny surface and looked back up at his face. I could tell that he had treated it with kid gloves since I had left here, that much was evident from the appearance of his room. Cracks in the walls, longer and more numerous with multiple signs that he had punched the wall repeatedly. Splinters from his dresser piled up in one corner of the room where it had once occupied the space. He was mad, yet he didn't dare hurt something that held a special place in my heart.

"Shizuo, we need to talk," I said, walking past him with the violin case to sit on the edge of his bed.

"About what?" he asked me while turning to face me, but he didn't come sit beside me. I was okay with that, I was the one that needed to sit anyway since this specific topic of conversation would take a lot out of me.

"About ourselves. Our insecurities. Our pasts," I said, setting the case beside me and looked him directly in the eye despite the length of distance between us and the difference in height. "And I want to go first."


	32. Chapter 32: The Past is in the Past

**Merry Christmas! And a happy new year~**

"The past? Do we…have to?" he asked me, leaning away to fall back against the wall opposite me.

"Well, I figured that since I know a little of your past, you should know a little of mine," I explained, crossing my legs at the ankle and leaning back on my hands. This took him by surprise. I don't know why, this should've seemed obvious by this point.

"What do you mean you know about my past?" he asked me pushing away from the wall to stand before me.

"I said I knew a little, meaning one thing. Something about a bakery…?" I hinted to him, trying to entice him to tell me his half of the story and possibly some more. His face showed that he knew what I was talking about almost immediately. Something like sadness mixed with…regret?

"What have you heard?" he asked me, looking away to the wall, or to the floor, or to anywhere but me.

"It's not a firsthand account of what went on, so it's not much," I explained, but he repeated what he said again, making me sigh in response to his stubbornness and recount what Kyoko-san had told me, trying my best to not make it sound like an accusation. It didn't work. His frown deepened and he eventually took off his sunglasses, tucking them within his vest before sitting next to me on the bed, the red stained violin case between us.

"You can go first if you want. It seems like you need to get something off your chest anyhow," I told him, scooting back a bit on the bed, I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my arms against them, getting somewhat comfortable for a possibly long or short story, depending on how he told it, or for how long he wanted to talk of course. In reality, I didn't want to go first anyway. I'm too much of a coward that way. The story I was going to tell didn't make it easy on my mind either, but I was determined to tell at least one person about it, even if telling someone all these years later wouldn't make a difference to the past.

He folded his hands in front of him, resting his elbows on his knees, before he unfolded his hands and wrung them around each other repeatedly. Before long he ran a hand through his hair in a sort of nervous gesture and started speaking.

"I don't like violence; I'll start by saying that first. When I was a kid, I got mad at my younger brother for some stupid reason. I ended up trying to throw a refrigerator at him but something in my body broke or got dislocated and I went to the hospital…a lot because I couldn't control my anger after that." This didn't surprise me, if anything it explained what I saw in the last few months. _'Guess his body built up immunity to itself after all the trips to the hospital,'_ I thought thinking back to the box of x-rays.

"Eventually I just let my body take over and stopped fighting it. But…" he paused, like he was trying to recount the entirety of what happened. "Your friend wasn't entirely wrong when she said I ran in there and destroyed the place, but it's not like I did it on a whim, or that I had a grudge against the owner or any shit like that. There were these punks inside hassling her. No, not hassling, assaulting. Something in me snapped, and the next thing I knew, I was standing over her unconscious body surrounded by crushed food and broken glass. I didn't mean to hurt her…I just wanted to save her."

He stopped then and didn't say anything more, choosing instead to stare at the floor rather than look at me. After hearing his side of the story, I couldn't help but think that the only thing Shizuo did wrong was regret what he did all those years ago. To be sure of this however, I had to ask him.

"Shizuo, do you regret what you did?"

"Yeah," he said without turning to me.

"Well don't, what you did was the best thing you could've done for her." This got his attention, making him look sharply back to look at me seriously. Like his sad story should've told me something I obviously didn't understand.

"How is hurting her the best thing that could've happened to her?!" he asked me angrily, clutching the edge of the bed in a vise-like grip.

"Maybe I'm just speaking from past experience," I said quietly, growing annoyed when I saw that he still wasn't getting it. "Do I have to spell it out for you, genius? What if you didn't charge in and beat everyone up, albeit accidental? What if you weren't there to stop them?" I asked him, seeing the possibilities of it all begin to dawn on him.

"You claim what you did was a mistake. That you screwed up. But that's just a side note. The big picture of it all was that you stopped them from doing something monumentally horrible. And if she doesn't understand that either…then she should count herself lucky that the worst thing she got was a broken leg or whatever it was that she got when you saved her from being..." I stopped there suddenly wanting to keep my past hidden away inside of me. He stared at me for awhile and I grew a little uncomfortable and finally did the only thing I ever did when I felt irritated. I snapped at him.

"_What? _I'm not allowed to think about what might've happened but you're allowed to mope about something that was clearly an accident?" I asked him, glaring up at him while he looked down at me with a slightly surprised face. I looked away from him as my pissed off mood dulled a bit until I could ask him what he what the undertone was to his little story. When he told me, I didn't know what to think of it at first.

"I don't want to hurt you like everyone else." I smiled at this and raised a hand to pat his shoulder in a kind of reassuring gesture, nodding like I understood where he was coming from. Right before I said the opposite.

"Shizuo, that…is…the biggest load of crap I have ever heard in my entire life. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You don't want to hurt me? I have caused more harm to myself than anyone I have ever fought with put together, including you. The amount of crap I have done to myself because of a dare puts whatever you will ever accidentally do to me to shame."

"But-" he started before I cut him off.

"Shhht! I'm not done. And you better listen because this next part is important. I like your strength, no matter how freakish it might be. I like your take-no-shit attitude. Your anger issues could take some improvements, but I like how passionate you can get about, apparently, any subject. And I happen to like violence, whether it's within reason or not, so even if you're throwing lamp posts because some guy was being super annoying, or was borrowing money for a prostitute, I'll still like it, even if it breaks my arm by accident. Bottom line, you could do just about anything, and I'd still like you for it. I'd be pissed as hell, but I wouldn't hate you for it." He looked surprised by this, like he had never heard this before. His next words made this fact evident.

"No one's…no one's ever said that about me before," he mumbled to me, turning his head slightly away as to hide his face, but it was obvious from his tinted ears that he was either embarrassed or blushing. Either way it was cute to think about.

I smiled, taking delight in the fact that I was the first to like his destructive side. "Then I'm honored to have been your first then. Not in the fun way, in this way," I said, feeling my face flush a bit when I heard my words and laughing a bit when I saw Shizuo's ears turn red. He turned back to me with a serious expression then, all hints of his earlier blush gone as he asked me a question.

"How can you say it so easily? How can you joke about it like it doesn't affect you?" I knew what he was talking about, and this time I knew he wouldn't let me switch the subject.

"You're not gonna take 'I don't want to talk about', are you." It wasn't a question.

"When you were drunk, you told me that you've never told anybody and you regretted it. I understand if you don't want to tell me, but you should tell someone at least." I couldn't say that his words didn't make sense, they didn't but that's only because I couldn't remember saying that ever, they did however make me say this:

"I think you're the only person I could ever tell the story to, just because…you're one of the best guys I know and…look, this is going to take a lot out of me, so just…don't interrupt or anything or I'll stop and never finish." He nodded and drew himself further up onto the bed, the violin case sliding towards him slightly, touching his left thigh and hand. I drew in a breath and exhaled it in a slow rush, working to dig up the memories from the pile of crap that was every bad memory in my mind. When I finally found it, a few days after tripping up the stairs and a couple hours before cutting my foot on the long walk home, I started my sad tale.

_I never really understood calculus; really it started with algebra and went from there. The same, of course, went for the psychology portion of science class. Who the hell cared how the mind worked? Wasn't it more important to understand how your body worked since a million things could go wrong with it? Understandably, I did poorly in both subjects. So it wasn't unusual that Suzuki-sensei asked me to stay after class for supplementary classes periodically. When he touched my touched my shoulder as I left the afterschool class with the other poor students, it was longer than usual. It wasn't uncommon to see Suzuki-sensei touch a student's shoulder, whether they were male or female, and usually it lasted little more than a few seconds. When the teachers asked him about it, he claimed it was a way of getting the students to trust him. Maybe it was because of this that I somehow felt special._

_I was a second year in high school, and as such had made a name for myself. "Tomboy Tachibana". Needless to say I hated the name since I was so obviously feminine, by which I mean I wore a skirt and had long hair like the other girls. It was probably my attitude that suggested otherwise. My peers hated me, my teachers thought I caused trouble wherever I went, when I walked into a room, it felt like I was the epicenter of a "Silence Plague" that caused everyone around to hold their breath and wait for me to do something horrible. It was around my goofy friends that I ever felt normal besides the fact that our little trio was commonly called "The Abnormals". Really the name applied only to me and Hikaru since Yuki was a little popular, but people found it strange that he hung out with us at all._

_For a few weeks Suzuki-sensei's hand lingered longer than normal and eventually slid from my shoulder to my back, and slid lower from there. When he started touching my back, I found his gestures to be threatening, after which I started skipping the afterschool classes all together until he called me out on it. It started like it used to, he led the afterschool lessons, the other students rushed to leave to start their other activities. I was the last to leave, however, Suzuki-sensei asked me to stay and tell him why I had stopped attending the lessons. I found this threatening as well since, from what I remembered from my fellow delinquents ranting, Suzuki-sensei didn't care enough to ask them about their behavior. Obviously I couldn't tell him that he made me uncomfortable, so I settled for a nice safe lie._

"_My violin. I've been taking lessons and they require more attention than some shitty classes." It was supposed to be safe, it was supposed to tick him off and ask me to leave. It had the opposite effect though. He smiled at me in that regal way of his and bent behind his desk to retrieve something. When he brought it up for me to see, I lost my composure._

"_As I understand it, you are already quite good at the violin. I heard that you preformed recently at a nursing home, didn't you? Made those old geezers so happy," he asked me, stroking the cherry-red stained case almost lovingly. It made me feel sick._

"_Where did you get that?" I asked him, trying to hold back my anger that he dared touch it._

"_You store it in the closet during class, don't you? You always play it so sweetly when no one's around," he said, unlocking the brass locks that held the case closed and reaching a pale hand in to retrieve the beautiful, red-brown violin. Its sleek surface shining in the fluorescent light of the class room as the sun made its way down into the horizon._

"Don't touch it like it's yours!_" I shouted, slamming my palms down on the wood of his desk, baring my teeth like they were a wolf's fangs._

"_You must have stolen this from a music store. It's far too beautiful to be in those destructive hands of yours," he mused, carelessly plucking the stings and making them emit such horrible sounds._

"_It's been in my family for many generations. Now put it down," I told him, my heart jumping into my throat when he released it, letting it fall to the fall only to grab the neck a few inches from the ground._

"_This is what we're going to do. You're going to do exactly what I say or your violin ends up as fire wood, understand?" he said, fingers tapping patiently against the neck and strings. Each time his finger curled away from the instrument, my breath caught and released until I was forced to submit to his will._

"_What do you want?" I asked, not daring to show my face to him to the see the utter turmoil swimming in my eyes as found that I could neither call out for help since everyone had left the premises of the school, nor fight back since I would be putting my precious violin in danger of breaking._

"_All you have to do is sit on the desk, Amai-chan. Just sit on the desk and let me take care of you."_

I stopped there, not wanting to remember the gory bits of that evening, choosing instead to skip to the end, the part that was the most fresh in my mind since it was the part that I remembered the most.

"My mind became aware of my surroundings a few hours later when I was walking on the dirt road back to my house. Until my foot got cut on a stick, I was letting my body take me back home while my mind was…was…trying to forget. My uniform was torn and dirty with…_stuff_, and the only thing that made me feel better was that my violin was okay," I finished, stealing one glance to the polished wood of the case. Behind me I saw out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shizuo shaking, the blankets on his bed in danger of being torn to shreds. Shizuo stood up suddenly from the bed and sank his fist into the wall before pulling it out and punching the wall again, this time in a different spot several times, each punch not seeming to do anything to quell his anger. With his hand sunk into the wall up to his wrist, he turned his slightly murderous gaze on me before sliding it down to my violin. I caught where his gaze went to and settled an equally murderous gaze on him.

"If you even think about breaking my violin, I won't hesitate to kill you," I told him a deadly low voice.

"That thing and your stubbornness is the reason why you got raped in the first place," he said coldly, pulling his hand easily out of the wall, as if the wall was made of pudding and not solid wood and plaster.

"This _thing_ is the only reason I put up with all the crap in this messed up world. If you heard it, you'd understand," I said, picking up the violin and clutching it to my chest like it was a child.

"Then enlighten me, why is that thing worth more to you than anything else?" he asked, stalking towards me to stand at the edge of the bed, strangely calm and exuding danger and malicious intent in his gaze. Like he was a wild animal waiting to snap my neck. The next few minutes I had to choose my words carefully.

"It's been in my father's family for generations, and it's the only thing that remains of my grandfather and his love for the old country." My words didn't hold much weight though, since he did the thing he always seemed to do. Speak calmly before torching everything in sight.

"Fucking heirloom. You lost your virginity to a bastard because of a fucking heirloom_. What the hell kind of reason is that?!_" he yelled making a blind grab for the violin case, causing me to back up further on the bed and make him crawl on top of me, clawing for the violin case that I managed to keep out of reach. Just as his fingers grazed the case, my free hand reached up to grab his earlobe, pressing it as if it were a button that would stop all hell from breaking loose. Which, in retrospect, was true.

Like every time before, the change was visible as his tense body relaxed and his reaching arm fell back to the bed, and his head fell forward to stare at me blankly before lighting up with recognition and slight fury after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Why do you act like it doesn't matter?" he asked me, plain and simple, still positioned over me like we were a couple about to partake in a loving act.

"Because the past doesn't matter when the present is happening now," I told him, sneaking my legs from in between his to wrap around his waist, letting go of my violin case to clutch his shoulders. Only now was he able to see the kind of position we were in. The blush that spread across his face gave way to surprise as I swiftly turned us over, placing myself on top of his waist with him underneath me. When his hands grabbed my thighs, his blush found its way back when I moved slightly atop his waist to lean in close to him.

"Not to mention that I got to break his nose. And besides, he didn't break anything. Let's just say that he wasn't the first one there," I told him taking obvious delight in his flustered appearance.

"Then who was?" he blurted out, seeming to focus half his attention on me and the other half on keeping his friend from standing up. Must not have been easy considering I was straddling his crotch.

"Okay, only because you were really concerned about my well being, I'll tell you a kind of funny story. I have a friend, his name is Yuki and his father breeds horses. When I was thirteen he invited me and Hikaru over to the horse farm to race them. Half way into the race, I took a wrong turn and ran my horse into the gate around the grazing area. Before I could stop my horse, she jumped the fence and launched me into the air. The only reason I didn't go flying was because my feet were hooked into the holsters. When my horse landed back on the ground…I landed on the horn of the saddle," I paused here when I saw Shizuo make a face like he was holding back a smile or grimacing at the thought. "Hikaru hit Yuki in the head when he called me a wimp. His dad gave me a pack of ice to hold over my crotch and explained to my parents what happened before the male half of my family burst into laughter. You know what the third worst part of that day was?" he shook his head no. "I lost my virginity to the saddle of a horse named Purity. They all said it was ironic." I smiled down at him as a smile broke out on his face.

"My neck is wrapped up, and my story has, finally, been told so I should get going now before my cats dies of starvation," I said, grabbing the violin case by his head and swiftly climbing off of him to leave the apartment. "You should probably get this fixed," I commented, pausing by the holes he had made in the wall, looking through each one to the other side of the wall before looking back at him as he slowly sat up. The partial erection in his pants expected but not at all unwelcome. "Maybe I'll come back next time and teach you why this is so important to me," I said gesturing to the violin case, all the while fighting back the urge to tease him mercilessly about the thing he was hiding in his pants. I said good bye to him and left quickly, my face blushing a little at what I had seen.

_DRRR!_

"Just tell me!"

"No."

"Come on! You felt _my_ boyfriend's, just tell me already!"

"No." I said focusing on the soft fur of the blond kitten I had dubbed Shizu-chan, the little ball of fluff alternating between hissing and purring each time I stroked his back. "And to be fair, I couldn't really feel your boyfriend's. You know, me being female doesn't really do anything for him."

"If you want to continue staying here you'll tell me immediately!" he said trying to blackmail me. Lucky for me I had an expert way of dealing with blackmail after many, many years of doing my brothers' chores.

"If you want to continue doing the horizontal mambo with the 150-lbs of beef cake currently taking a hot, wet shower, then you'll zip your trap and let me play with Shizu-chan," I said, smiling to myself as I saw his face go red imagining every little detail I had just listed off. When his head fell back against the couch, and his arms crossed over his chest, I smiled happily to myself, practically bouncing in my seat.

"Since you were over by Shizuo-san's house, I'm guessing that you stole his cigarettes?" he asked after a few minutes of pouting.

"I don't know why he keeps putting them in his pockets. This is the seventh time I've pick-pocketed them," I said, taking the half empty pack out of my pocket and holding it out to the tranny next to me who simply slipped one out of the pack, flipping open a lighter and holding one end to the flickering flame before breathing it deeply. I leaned away as he sighed out smoke, holding a hand over the little kitten's face.

"How come you don't give me the same old song and dance as Shizuo-san? It makes me feel hurt that you don't care about my health," he said, feigning despair and hurt, one hand held to his 'aching' heart, and the other, holding the cigarette, lying flaccid against the back of the couch.

"Because I can neither tell _you_ what to do with your body, nor could I win that fight even if I tried," I said standing up to put the blond kitten back in the box with his siblings and mother. "But _God_ am I such a hypocrite!" I exclaimed, practically folding myself over the back of the couch like I was an old blanket.

"What do you mean?"

"Huuh~ I just spent the better part of two hours telling Shizuo why I hate cigarettes, what they do to your body, and very subtle hints towards quitting. The last part of the two hours we mainly talked about his insecurities, does not leave this room by the way, and my past trauma," I stated practically glaring at the TV screen as it flipped between advertisements.

"What trauma?"

"Believe me when I tell you that it can only be discussed between me and Shizuo. If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Freaking unfair brat," Taka-chan muttered darkly, among a few others things that were either curse words or curses.

"But I _can_ tell you this. For a month afterwards, I stole my mom's packs of cigarettes and smoked them on the roof of the school during lunch. And by that, I mean I smoked one a day at lunch and spent the better part of homeroom trying to hack it out of my lungs. And the latter part of it trying to get the smell out of my clothes. But that doesn't leave this room, deal?" I said sternly, glaring at him and secretly willing him not to unravel my weeks of medium work trying to get Shizuo to quit.

"Deal," Taka-chan agreed, shaking my outstretched hand.

"Deal," said Naoki-san, causing me to wheel backwards and crash onto a wooden chair awkwardly, bringing it down with me as I landed on the soft carpeting. Soft carpeting.

'_I need to get off this floor immediately,'_ I thought, scrambling to stand up and glare menacingly at Naoki-san.

"How much did you hear Naoki-san?" I said, my voice gaining the odd tone of murder-torture that my younger twin brothers possessed when they threatened someone. There was no doubt in my mind that Taka-chan would have been on my side if he hadn't been reduced to a jiggling pile of heart-shaped gooeyness at the mere sight of bronze muscles wrapped in a wet, white towel around his boyfriend's hips. The only hair on his body, besides his head, pointing downward towards whatever size package he was smuggling under the white cotton skirt.

"Enough to know that you have to tell Heiwajima-kun the truth if you want him to kick his habit," he said, oddly defiant and upset as he crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me uncharacteristically. Dear God…was I going to lose a fight against a weak willed man with a soft spot for kittens?!

"I'll-I'll tell him when I tell him."

"What?"

"I mean I'll tell him when I successfully get what I want, or when I'm at a stalemate, or when I can remember to tell him."

He looked at me annoyed, a single look of anger and detachment as he uttered three words that effectively shattered my view of him, and unfortunately turned Taka-chan on to such a degree that he was practically drooling at the raw masculinity and dominance his boyfriend exuded.

"Not. Good. Enough."


	33. Chapter 33: Pricks, Dicks and Tricks

**Happy New Year all!**

"You're starting to disappoint me, Amai-chan. First the attraction to Shizu-chan, and now this! Getting captured so easily it's almost sad," Izaya commented, sounding so hurt that I couldn't live up to his expectations. At least, I think that's what I heard, of course, since my mind was so muffled and fuzzy after waking up, it was hard to be sure that that was what he had even said. Speaking of which, how did I fall asleep? And also, why couldn't I see anything or move anything? One thing I was sure of, however frightening it may be, was that I was in Izaya's apartment. Maybe if I focused hard on what happened before I got here, what he might be saying will make sense.

_The moans, the groans, the feint sound of springs moving continuously, I might as well sleep in my ruined apartment next to Monowa-san. Unfortunately for me, Naoki-san was more imaginative than I gave him credit for. Leaving me inside an unlocked bathroom while he and Taka-chan messed around on the couch, choosing either to risk it or stay put? He was either smart or evil. Best to go with evil because he dared to doubt my willingness to climb out of a three story window, and proceed to dangle from the window ledge. Yeah. My brothers screwed me up big time._

'I am so punching Naoki-san later. Face, groin, I don't care!'_ I thought vehemently, slowly inching my way down the rain gutter to the second floor. I didn't have many friends in this building, or anywhere for that matter, but if there's one thing I knew, there would be at least one person that wouldn't let me drop to the ground and break something, quite possibly my neck._

"_Tachibana-kun? What the hell are you doing out there?" called a husky voice from a few feet below me. Or, you know, there would be at least one that would buy tickets to see this show._

"_Heeeey…Mikamoto-san. So…how are you doing?" I asked, half-heartedly trying to lighten the situation's mood._

"_How am I doing? Well, I was enjoying my sleep until I woke up because of an obnoxious sound coming from outside the window. And low and behold, the obnoxious sound is _you climbing down the goddamn rain gutters three stories up!_" he shouted shrilly, all the while glaring up at me with a wild-eyed look in his eye. "_What the hell are you doing up there?! And here for that matter?!"

_Obviously I couldn't tell my former land lord/slum lord/supervisor that I was living here illegally, and as much as I wanted to rat out Naoki-san for partially living here, too, I didn't have the heart to do that to him. And also that I'd have no permanent place to live for the time being, so long as I had that debt hanging over my head. As well as the awkwardness I perpetually put myself in whenever Shizuo was around._

"_That…is a great question. And here…is the answer. Since I am friends with Takazawa-san, I was over here visiting him…and while I was here, his boyfriend came over and they started being friendly in the living room, if you know what I mean," I said, trying my best to explain._

"_Care to explain why you are climbing through a window?"_

"_I…am…getting to that," I said slowly, trying to sort out my truths and lies. "I was in the…bedroom when he came over and they started getting busy. And _obviously_ I didn't want to ruin the mood, so I snuck out the window and decided to go home," I finished, although really, there was no end game to this make shift plan of mine. The most I was planning to do was walk around randomly for a few hours and come back after they had, well, cum._

"_Then why does it look like you came down from the bathroom window?" he said, instantly catching me in a half-lie._

"_I think the better question is: how do know that that window is the bathroom window?" I countered him, restarting my climb down the flimsy gutter. It was times like these that I was grateful for my shortness; this way was easier to climb things._

"_I'm the landlord of this building. I know each and every nook and cranny this complex has to offer. So I should know the exact place where the freaking bathroom is!" he exclaimed, leveling his hard gaze on me as I shimmied down the gutter to his eye level._

"_Sounds more like a pervert's explanation," I said bluntly, shoving one leg through the open window and glaring at him. "You gonna help me inside? Or are you gonna let me fall and sue you for purposely abandoning someone in need of help?" I asked when he looked down at my leg and back up to me in anger._

"_There's no way you'd survive the fall. We're twenty feet up!"_

"_Che, please. I once jumped from the top of a barn into a haystack thirty feet down on a dare, and walked away with a twisted ankle. Or rather limped away."_

"_That was into a haystack! This is clear concrete," he said, glancing down as if to make sure that there was, indeed, concrete._

"_Same difference," I said indifferently, ignoring his disbelieving look. I shoved the rest of my leg through the window, briefly straddling the window pane before falling gracelessly to the floor of the apartment. Popping back up, I straightened out my clothes and walked to the apartment door, saying a very brief hello and goodbye to his wife before letting the door close behind me, all the while grumbling about doing unmentionable things to Naoki-san._

DRRR!

_Since I had no plan whatsoever to return to Taka-chan's apartment, and had in intention of bothering Shizuo, nor approaching him any time tonight, or tomorrow, after that…"interesting" talk we had that I would now dub "The Feelings Hour", I had no agenda other than aimlessly walking the streets. This actually proved to be the beginning of my downfall, because no sooner after I had exited from the alley behind the building, did I run into a tallish man in a light-colored jacket and dark rimmed glasses._

"_Sorry, my bad. I'm still getting my bearing straight after a recent near-death experience," I quickly explained to the somewhat flustered young man._

"_No no, it's alright, I should have seen you stumbling towards me sooner. I just assumed you were drunk," he said innocently smiling at either mine, or his mistake. My smile twitched down a bit in irritation at hearing this accusation of assuming I was drunk, when in reality I was shaking my legs free of the strain I had put on them earlier when I was inching down the rain gutter._

"_Yeah, well, I'm not, so I'm going to be leaving now before I hurt you for the insult you so clearly said," I responded, moving around him to continue on my aimless path. Ahead of me I saw a van park on our side of the road, two men-or was that small one a teenager?- got out of the van. I thought nothing of it and turned around to face the glasses man when he spoke again._

"_Hey, you seem familiar. Aren't you…Amai Tachibana?" he asked me, a spark of recognition lit within his eyes. Somehow I doubted he was that happy to see me._

"_Yes, that's me," I said wearily, raising an eyebrow at his curiosity._

"_Perfect! We were just looking for you," he said, a malicious glint taking place of the earlier recognition I had seen. Before I could ask him what he meant by 'looking for' and 'we', someone grabbed my arms and pulled them roughly behind me, locking them in place while the short kid in the pink sweatshirt came around to smirk at me like the little gremlin he was, saying a cheery 'nice to meet you' before pressing a wet cloth to my face, covering my nose and mouth before I could realize where I had seen this trio of bozos before. The same trio I had seen take Kamichika-san with roughly the same method. Besides knowing that they were human traffickers-otherwise known as scum to me and anyone else who was captured by the likes of them-I also knew that they were on the beck and call of one Izaya Orihara when the opportunity to kidnap someone for cold, hard cash presented itself. Of course this was all based on inferences and hearsay. _

_The words they spoke next while I was passing out from whatever stuff the rag was soaked in confirmed my suspicions correct when they debated whether or not they would get a better deal selling me off to a pharmaceutical company rather than handing me over to Izaya. After that my eyesight had drifted away from me, leaving the world and my mind behind in a black hole called unconsciousness._

Now I was debating whether or not being sold off to a pharmaceutical company for weird human experiments would be the best option of the two the three bozos had.

"Whaterya talkin' 'bout?" I slurred, working on opening my eyes to see my surroundings. The only problem was that I was fairly sure my eyes were open. I even blinked a few times to make sure, but continued to see only darkness. Flexing my arms and legs, I discovered that only my legs were free to move around, but my arms were pulled away from my sides and up above my head, tied to what I assumed to be the headboard with a pair of handcuffs. "What the hell?" I said drowsily, weakly tugging at the bounds while I tried to get my head back together.

"Looks like they used a bit too much on you didn't they," he said, stating the obvious. I said nothing, focusing instead on what this bastard was planning and how I had gotten caught in it. "About twelve straight hours I believe you slept," he said conversationally.

"What are you planning you sick, miserable freak?" I said, gaining my common sense and snide comments back.

"I'd mind my tongue if I were you, Amai-chan." His voice sounded closer than before.

"Yeah, well, you're you and I'm me. And while I'm speaking, _why am I tied to a bed and blindfolded!?_" I said, struggling against the cold metal.

"What~ you don't trust me, Amai-chan?" he said teasingly, the bed sinking down on my left where I assumed he had sat down next to me.

"Frankly no."

"And you're right to think that. But do you honestly think that you can trust Shizu-chan more? That freakish, mad dog? I mean, I know he's your boyfriend and you can't possibly do better when you're already at the bottom of the barrel, but you could at least try."

"One, the only thing remotely freakish about Shizuo is his ability to take no damage, which, honestly, I'm a little jealous of. Two, the bottom of the barrel consists mainly of scumbags, douche bags, and lastly, you. And three, he is _not_ my _boyfriend_! We're just friends," I listed off, although the last one confused me greatly.

"That's truly a shame. Care to find out what he thinks?" he asked me, the sound of a phone being flipped open, and numbers being dialed clear as a bell. While we waited for Shizuo to pick up, he brushed back my hair and placed the ringing phone next to my ear, idly playing with it as Shizuo eventually answered.

"_Hello? Who is this?"_

"Shizuo?" I said simply, feeling too freaked out by Izaya lazily playing with my hair to say much else.

"_Amai? This isn't your number. Where are you calling from?"_

"Yeaaaah, about that. I can't really see right now, but I'm pretty sure I'm calling from a bedroom."

"_What do you mean you can't see? And where the hell are you? I dropped by the bakery and your boss said you never showed up,"_ he said, a hint of concerned laced anger edging his voice.

"I-" I started to say, wanting to explain as much as possible what was happening even if I didn't know myself, only to have the phone ripped from my ear and my position as speaker replaced by Izaya.

"Hello Shizu-chan. Did you enjoy your talk with Amai-chan?" he asked so politely it was almost ridiculous. I couldn't tell what Shizuo said to him, but thanks to his yelling, I picked up a few words: bastard, flea, some profanity mixed into insults. A few times I heard my name being said, but what he said about me I have no idea.

"Such a worrier, Shizu-chan. Wouldn't you believe that Amai-chan just woke up in my bed?" he asked, removing my blind fold and holding it above my head almost teasingly, as if to say, 'There you are!' I glared at him while he smiled down at me mischievously, before turning half of his attention to the person on the other line.

"So far nothing of importance. We've just been…taking pleasure in each other's company. And what a delight she is. So sexy and feisty, it's almost a crime," he laughed jokingly, his free hand drifting down to my stomach and playing with the edge of my shirt.

"Get your hand off my waist," I sneered at him, lip curling in a show of anger when he smirked down at me, his hand slipping under the edge and palming my abdomen.

"Such smooth, creamy skin. Have you ever seen it, Shizu-chan? Have you ever tasted it?" he asked. This time I could hear the response clearly as he yelled into the phone.

"Don't touch her you bastard!_"_ he yelled, _"Don't you dare fucking_ touch her!_"_

This was getting out of hand. This joke, or whatever the hell this was, was going too far. And if Shizuo believed any of this shit, there's no way he would trust me, or hang out with me, or like m-…this was getting out of hand.

"Izay-AAHH!" I wanted to tell him what was happening, that Izaya was messing with his head, but when my warning started, it got cut off, Izaya's name ended with a sort of choking sound when his hand moved up my stomach and grabbed my breast, startling me into shock until I saw his mildly disapproving glare at me, telling me that he felt the same way towards me that I had towards him.

"So impatient, yet so willing. Tell me, Shizu-chan, is it frustrating to know that she never had "those" feelings for you?" he said, clicking his tongue at me in a disapproving manner before going back to taunting Shizuo. "Feel free to come here if you want, if you aren't running here already," he said, offering this small sentence as a sort of farewell, before snapping the phone shut and turning back to me with a sly smile on his face.

"You're a bastard. And once Shizuo gets here and sees what's really going on, you'll be six feet deep while I tap dance on your grave," I remarked, crossing my legs at the ankle and reclining lazily against the pillows beneath my head.

"You're right. Maybe we should make this story more believable, hmm?" he asked. I did not like that look in his eye one bit, and I was right not to when he held up his switch blade, the sleek metal glinting in the afternoon sun streaming in from the window.

"What are you going to do with that?" I asked, swallowing down my anxiety at the sight of a shark metal object that could so easily kill me.

"I'm going to make this story more believable, Amai-chan," he answered gleefully, as if that answered all my questions. He brought the knife down to lightly touch my chin before dragging it down my throat so lightly that it almost tickled. 'Almost' being the key word when it dug a little deep and cut the skin on my collar bone. "Careful not to move so much, Amai-chan. Wouldn't want to destroy the image," he mused, focusing most of his attention on the collar of my shirt as his knife sliced through it. An almost ragged line cutting through the bleeding heart symbol on my shirt.

"What are you planning you sick bastard?" I asked, sneering at him as he moved the flaps of my ruined shirt aside, as if he were a surgeon moving aside the flaps of skin to see into the body cavity.

"Just sit back and relax, Amai-chan. I'll be done soon," he said, unintentionally saying almost the exact same thing Suzuki-sensei had repeated over and over and over and-

"_Get off me you sick son of a bitch!_" I screamed, thrashing wildly at the handcuffs that held me there, kicking my legs in some attempt to do something other than just lying there and taking it. I already did that once, never again.

"Shh, shh, shhhh," he hushed me, pressing a hand against my mouth when I started to scream, moving so he was straddling my waist, the tip of his knife edged under the center of my bra. "You don't have to worry about me doing anything perverted to you. At most I look at you the same way a child looks at a toy. But I have to make this look as real as possible. You may think I'm doing this for my own personal amusement, and you're right in thinking that. And you may think that anyone else may do just as fine, but that's wrong. You're the perfect person to use. The woman who teases him constantly with affection, and dashes his hopes the moment he starts looking your way. And what's more cruel of a way to torment him than to find the girl of his dreams in bed with his worst enemy," he said flicking the knife upwards and easily cutting through the material. "Don't look so frightened, Amai-chan. I'm not so cruel as to give you more bad memories. I just want to give them to Shizu-chan," he said, putting down the knife momentarily to grab a bottle on the bedside table and a small rag.

'_Ah shit!'_ I thought when the rag was pressed against the lower half of my face, covering my nose and mouth once more._ 'Resist it. Resist it!'_ I thought over and over again as I held my breath for what seemed like eternity until my lungs burned for the oxygen they so desperately required. When I finally took that refreshing breath, the smell of the knock out liquid invaded my lungs and drowned out my senses, my consciousness shutting down on the last image I saw, and my ears hearing the last thing they would hear until my mind woke back up again.

"Don't worry Amai-chan. It'll all be over soon," he said as my eyes slid shut and my mind turned back to the murky darkness it was in before.

_DRRR!_

I woke up. My arms were free of the hand cuffs they were previously bound in. The alarming thing was that I was naked. Not like the night I had gotten drunk and slept in Shizuo's bed in my underwear. No, I had no clothes on my body to speak of. The only thing I had to go on that guaranteed I wasn't violated was Izaya's word. And honestly that didn't count for squat. Pushing myself up on one hand, I rubbed my hand over my face, slapping my cheek a few times to wake myself up completely. Looking blearily around the room, I spotted the closet across from the bed I was lying on. Letting the blanket that was half-heartedly covering my body fall to the bed, I walked, or more so stumbled, to the closet, opening it up and looking through the slim selection inside. Taking down a random shirt, and picking up my pair of discarded pants and shoes, I hastily put them on, taking into account that the although it was a men's shirt, it was a bit tight in the chest region. Stumbling out of the bedroom and down the short hallway, I made my way slowly down the stairs and into the general office/living room area, spying a happier-than-happy smile on his smug bastard face.

My lip curled in disgust at the nonchalant way he sat there on his couch. His feet propped up on the low coffee table, a mug of what appeared to be coffee or dark colored tea in his hands. Stalking over to the smiling, black-haired man, I snatched the mug out of his hands and hurled it at the nearest wall there was, the liquid inside spilling out to burn my hand when I threw it.

"Awake already, Amai-chan," he said looking as calm as ever as he folded his hands against his stomach, looking up at me as if he were watching a mildly amusing TV show. Maybe I should have hurled the mug at the flat screen behind me.

"You better have not done anything to me when I was asleep, you sick son of a bitch," I muttered darkly, glaring down at him with everything I had.

He looked at me with a hurt expression, as if the very thought physically hurt him. "Of course not, Amai-chan. All I did was strip you naked, position you to make it look like we had sex and left you there while I recounted to Shizu-chan everything that didn't happen while he looked at you with an expression akin to utter betrayal and turmoil," he said, his hurt expression melting away into a gleeful smirk as he saw my face turn into one of shock and concern over what Shizuo thought of me, and whether or not he had believed the story Izaya had told. Something told me that if the place was still intact, and Izaya was smirking like a cat that ate the canary, then it was a safe bet to assume that he had.

"You're his enemy, he wouldn't believe anything that _you_ would say," I said, moving past him to the door of the apartment, or rather the hole that was there, stopping in my step and feeling my body freeze when I heard myself speak.

"_He's _not _my _boyfriend_! We're just friends…He's _not_ my _boyfriend_! We're just friends…He's _not_ my _boyfriend_! We're just friends,"_ I heard myself say, over and over again as Izaya replayed the words on a small tape recorder in his palm.

"After hearing a story like the one I told, and hearing you say that all by yourself, will he really believe what a stranger like you says?" he asked me in all seriousness.

"I'm not a stranger, I'm his…" I shot back, trailing off when I was about to say the thing that must have made him believe something so ridiculous.

"His friend. Although after this, can you really claim to be that anymore?" he asked me, laughing in delight when he saw me scramble for the landline on his desk, rapidly dialing the numbers to Shizuo's cell and waiting for him to pick up.

"_Yeah?"_ I heard him say, his gruff voice sounding the same as ever.

"Shizuo, I-"

"_Amai, just…do me a favor and stay away from me,"_ he said, his words causing a small ache in my chest when I heard what he said.

"But nothi-" He hung up before I could explain and deny everything that Izaya told him. The dial tone resounding in my ear even after I hung up, my hands shaking on the table top as I fought back every urge to show my emotions, whether they be anger, sadness, hopelessness, or pure, unadulterated fury.

"What was that about him believing you?" I heard Izaya say behind me mockingly. I turned to face him, my face feeling hot and my eyes burning when I saw his stupid, smiling face. I turned my body towards him, my feet walking forward towards him, stalking more like it as I felt my nails bite into my palm.

"Will beating me up really solve the problem you now face?" he asked me, mildly amused at my blatant show of emotion.

"No, but it'll make me feel better," I muttered, the skin on my hand starting to hurt as it was stretched tight over my knuckles, so tight that it threatened to split.

He looked at like he didn't believe me, like I was all talk and no action. I guess if you fight with "The Strongest Man in Ikebukuro" on a daily basis, everyone else's threats seemed pretty weak.

"Will it? Will it really?"

My resolve to beat the shit out of him waned then and I turned back to the doorway, practically running out of the apartment building while Izaya just chuckled behind me. I didn't stop running then, not even when I felt like falling down, because the running kept the fight within me, and kept the feeling of dread at bay, like a sea wall that kept the depressing, out-of-character feelings from welling up inside of me. It was only when I got to the decrepit apartment complex that I finally stopped and fell down against the brick wall to catch my breath, taking in gulps of air until I had enough strength to stand up and walk up the three flights of stairs to my make-shift home. My anger had risen and fallen the entire run home, and when my strength finally depleted itself, I had thought that my anger had evaporated for the time being. However, when the first thing I saw inside Taka-chan's apartment was Naoki-san, it flared up again with no reason other than the fact that he was the one that had practically forced me out of the apartment and into the hands of Izaya.

"Amai-chan! Where the hell have you been! Your boss called and she said you didn't…Amai-chan?" Taka-chan said, his voice trailing off when he saw my infuriated face. I didn't spare him a glance as I focused my glare on the man standing a few feet away from me, a surprised and relieved look on his face that quickly morphed into one of outright fear as I stomped over to him and swung my fist forward, connecting with his jaw with a satisfying _smack_ sound. Even though he was a solid man that could have easily grounded himself against the force of the punch, his surprise gave way and pushed him over, his body falling back on the light colored carpeting as Taka-chan stumbled back in surprise at my unexpected action. I didn't stop there however; I stood over him and crouched down, kneeling next to Naoki-san as I full on wailed on him, punching his face, his chest, anywhere where his hands didn't catch my fists as they relentlessly pounded against him.

"You bastard! If it wasn't for you! If it wasn't for you! And those fucking human…those fucking human traffickers! And that prick! That douche bag Izaya! He'd still talk to me! He'd still hang out with me! He'd still…he'd still like me!" I yelled, my anger dropping down into nothing as my body shook and my eyes burned with unbidden tears that rolled hot down my cheeks. The hands behind me that tried to grab my arms and stop me from injuring their boyfriend, were now placed unsurely, soothingly against my back. Naoki-san looked up at me questioningly, bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose, one of his eyes squinted shut as it began to turn bruising colors.

"Amai…what…what happened?" he asked me, having to swallow repeatedly as blood leaked into his mouth. I looked at him, my eyes tearing up more and more as I tried unsuccessfully to wipe them away, succeeding only in smearing Naoki-san's blood on my face.

"Izaya…he…he made it…made it seem like we had…had sex, an…and he told Shizuo…and now…now he won't even let me explain!" I choked out, my face feeling wet even as the blood dried on my face, and the hands the hands on my back now encircled me to touch my shoulders.

"Amai, honey, please calm down. Listen, you'll see him around sometime, and then you can sit him down and explain everything. Easy fix," Taka-chan said soothingly, rubbing my back with one hand while he kept the other one securely on my shoulder, subtly telling me to stay strong.

"N-no, you don't understand. He-he said to stay away from him. He doesn't even want to see me! He doesn't want me to be his friend!" I objected digging my fingers into the beige carpeting, sniffling as my nose began to run with my tears.

"Honey, honey, please. You two are friends. I'm sure you'll work it out somehow and you'll go back to being friendly again," Taka-chan pleaded, trying to convince me of something he didn't believe in.

"No! I don't want to be his friend! I don't want to be a stranger! I don't want to not see him every day, or not talk to him every day, even when he pisses me off!"

"Amai, _please._ It's not like you to get this emotional about anyone!"

"I don't care if it's not like me! I'm an emotional bitch, alright!" I said, yelling at him although I had no reason to be angry at him, or anyone for that matter besides that prick Izaya.

"Amai, why do you care so much about this guy?" Naoki-san asked me, taking advantage of my vulnerable state to ask me the question I had been avoiding all this time.

"Because…be-because I care…I like-care about…" I choked on my words, despite knowing that I had to face what I felt, even if what I felt made me scared of the future outcome.

"Amai, this sounds like…are you…" Taka-chan didn't finish his sentence as I nodded my furiously, agreeing with his unspoken and unfinished question.

"I…I'm in love with Shizuo."


	34. Chapter 34: Q & A

Yasuko's POV~

I stared up at the ceiling, thinking. Just thinking. When was the last time I had heard my daughter so depressed? When was the last time I had heard her voice so monotonous? Was this boy really worth the trouble and heartbreak?

"Just go to that door down there, I'll be there in a while," came the voice of my youngest from beyond the bright yellow door. It opened and revealed to me the bright red hair and green eyes of my darling boy, Sora. Sometimes it surprised me how much he and Amai looked alike. Almost like they were twins, like Kazuhiro and Carney, and Colm and Kichiro. Lord, what were the odds of having two pairs of twins?

"Hi mom, I'm back from school," Sora said, closing the door behind him as he stood awkwardly against it.

"Yes, and apparently so is someone else," I smiled at him, glancing away to the wall at wherever he had hidden the boy he had brought home.

"Oh, yeah, umm…" Sora stuttered, blushing pink and glancing periodically at the room he had hidden him in.

"So what's his name?" I asked him, lifting a frail hand to gesture him forward.

"Takeshi Yamada, he's a first year like me. We started seeing each other a few weeks ago," he murmured, sitting down on the edge of the chair by my bed, nervously playing with the edge of his uniform.

"Bring him by later before he heads home, I'd like to meet him," I said, earning a disheartened, "why-me" type of expression.

"But…but…" he stuttered, his mouth gaping open like a fish.

"Oh, honey, it's not like I bite. I just want to talk to him," I reassured him, which only seemed to make him fret worse.

"But that's what I'm afraid of!" he cried, eyebrows knitting together.

"Don't worry, I'll be nice," I told him, before adding, "Can you get Kazuhiro and Carney for me, sweetie? I need you three for something important." He nodded and stood up, leaving his backpack by the chair as he left through the door. Through the window I saw him move quickly across the yard and into the barn, reappearing shortly after with my odd-ball sons. Actually, it's not fair to call them odd-balls since all my children were odd in some sweet way. Actually, I could probably call them my former-apprentices in the art of torture and interrogation, good-cop and bad-cop, brain and brawn. It was such a relief that two of my seven children took over my family business. They were going to become a veterinarian and mechanic, but at least they would be screwing people over in one way or another.

"Hey Mom, what do you need?" Kazuhiro asked, looking up from his phone long enough to give me his proper attention.

"If you all would sit down, we can get started immediately," I commanded like the war general I wasn't as they looked at one another almost wearily. Kazuhiro shut off his phone, and Carney wiped grease from his hands onto an oil rag before either kneeling on the floor by my bed, or sitting in the available chairs.

"Sora, what can you tell me about Shizuo Heiwajima's and Amai's relationship?"

Shizuo's POV~

I was irritated. No, I was angry. No, I was so freaking pissed off that everything irritated me.

"Hey Shizuo, you doing alright?" Tom asked me after I had finished throwing a middle-aged man clear through the apartment wall. Usually this sort of action wouldn't have made him ask since he was pretty understanding of what ticked me off about most—all—of his clients. But this time he had a point in asking me since almost nothing about this guy ticked me off to such a degree…besides his mention of "Bakery Girl".

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered, slipping a cigarette from the pack in my pocket and flicking my lighter open.

"Besides the obvious fact that you threw someone through the wall, even though he paid up properly, kind of seems like there's something wrong," Tom argued, looking through the hole I had created to the man passed out in his frightened neighbor's apartment.

"…He just said something that bugged, that's all," I responded, taking a long drag from the cigarette and blowing it out in a long column of smoke.

"I guess I can understand, since he said your girlfriend's cupcakes look delicious," he surmised, scratching his neck before counting the money in his hand that he had received before I had punched him through the wall.

"She's not my girlfriend," I murmured, glaring at the gross brown carpeting.

"Sorry, your friend then," he corrected himself, thumbing through the crumpled bills.

"Not my friend either," I sneered, taking the cigarette out of my mouth and pinching it hard between my fingertips.

"Really? I thought you guys were. What happened?" he asked me, unsuspecting of the kind of thing Amai did.

Gritting my teeth in frustration and anger, I threw down the cigarette, crushing it with my shoe before grabbing hold of the ratty couch next to me and throwing it out the window, glass shattering and plaster and brick falling in and out of the apartment.

"Umm, Shizuo, maybe you should head home, I can take care of the last one," Tom said, pocketing the money and heading towards the door.

"I said I'm fine."

"Yeah, but, you_ really_ shouldn't come with me to the next one," he tried to convince me, waiting for me in the hall while I tried to keep calm.

"Why not?" I asked, but I could tell who it was before he said her name.

"'Cause the next one is Tachibana-san," he answered, causing me to clench my hands in anger and punch the wall next to me, my fist going clear through the wall and making Tom flinch in mild shock.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I conceded, pulling my hand out and stuffing it in my pocket, walking past Tom and down the hall, a lazy wave thrown over my shoulder before I went downstairs, exiting the building.

I was annoyed. Annoyed that she didn't even try to explain what the hell she did. Not like I gave her the opportunity to though since I was openly avoiding Sunshine 60 and, if possible, the red-light district.

I was angry. No, I was pissed beyond all reason that she would hang around me and mess with my head and lead me on, only to turn around and sleep with Izaya. So freaking pissed. _So freaking PISSED_.

"_Shit!"_ I growled, stopping in my tracks to lean against the lamp post next to me, my fingers digging into the cold metal, and making it bend beneath my hand, getting out enough anger and frustration to not destroy the ringing phone in my pocket.

"_What?_" I snarled into it, thinking that it might be Shinra or someone else I knew that was annoying, never minding the fact that the number on the screen was long-distance and that the name said Tachibana.

"_Tch, is that any way to greet someone on the phone? No, you say 'hello' politely and ask who it is on the other line. Do you hear me, young man?"_ said a scratchy, oddly-familiar voice, making my anger dissipate and instead be replaced by confusion.

"Umm, hello? Who is this?" I asked, feeling like a little kid being scolded by their parent.

"_See? Was that so hard? Anyway, I'm surprised you don't recognize my voice, Heiwajima-kun. But, I guess since we really only spoke the one time, I shouldn't really blame you for forgetting,"_ she said, chuckling a bit.

"…Yasuko-san?" I asked, remembering Amai's mother in the background when she had called me. Suddenly my anger came back again at the thought of Amai.

"_Oh! Very good, you remember me!_" she said praising me, and, for some reason, making me feel a little happy.

"Is there a reason you're calling me?" I asked her, wanting to get to the point of why she called me.

"_Yes, there is. I've come to understand that you and Amai are having relationship problems. Despite the fact that you two aren't together officially or at all for that matter."_

"Wait, did Amai give you my number?" I asked, my anger spiking back up again.

"_Oh, no, nothing like that. I just had my son hack Amai's phone and retrieve your number from her list of contacts. Very good with hacking he is, too bad he wants to be a veterinarian,"_ she said, rambling on while I tried to figure out which one of her six brothers could hack phones, for all I knew it could be all of them from what I've heard.

"Then did Amai ask you to call me?"

"_Oh, no, quite the opposite actually, she begged me not to when I called her earlier. She seems to think I have a habit of meddling in her love affairs. Although, I can't really blame her since I caused eight of her past breakups. Although, this is the only time in her life that I actually tried to fix one. Hmm, interesting."_

"There's nothing to fix since there was nothing there," I muttered, putting my free hand in my pocket and leaning my shoulder against the leaning lamp post.

"_Not according to what my son, Sora, said. Apparently you two were kissing…?"_

"That was an accident, and it didn't mean anything," I replied quietly, trying to ignore the light feeling in my chest I got whenever I thought of her soft lips touching mine, and her warm body—

"_Sora said you were blushing after she freaked out and hid in the bathroom," _she continued. Even through the phone I could tell she was smiling. I didn't say anything, which she took to mean that she hit the bull's eye. _"Can I ask you something Heiwajima-kun?"_ she asked me, although I don't know why since she continued talking like she never asked me in the first place. _"Does Amai strike you as the type of person to cry?"_

"What?" What does she mean by that?

"_Because I've only ever seen her cry when it's worthwhile to cry. And the last time I saw her cry was roughly eight years ago. So please answer the question. Does Amai strike you as the type of person to cry?"_

"No. Not really," I answered, feeling confused by what she was asking me.

"_Good. Good. Then would it strike you as odd if I were to tell you that no less than two weeks ago, she cried for the first time in eight years? Or so her neighbor tells me."_

"I…I guess."

"_It's not 'I guess'. Give me your honest opinion,"_ she said, berating my answer.

"…She only cried once since I've met her, but that was when she was drunk. So no, she doesn't seem like the type of person to cry at all. Why…why was she crying?" I asked her, wondering for what possible reason she could have to cry about.

"_As I said before, she doesn't like to discuss her relationships with me. So this is second-hand information from her neighbor. He told me that she was crying because of a boy. Because of you."_

"Is that so strange? You've broken up her past relationships, so she must have cried then." It shouldn't have been strange. After all, from what I saw back in high school, a lot of girls cried when they broke up with their boyfriends. But Amai isn't like most girls.

"_Cried out in rage and vengeance, vowing to drag them down into the dirt and take them down to hell? Yes, she should since she learned that from me. But flat-out cried with the tears and the gross stuff? Sweetie, she's never cried over heartbreak, not once because "Boys aren't worth the shitty, girly feelings and the mess that comes with it", was what she always told me,"_ she relayed to me. Suddenly I had an awful feeling in my gut, like I did something terrible. Like that feeling I had all those years ago, back when I was a stupid elementary kid.

Like I screwed up.

"…then…she was crying because I…"

"_Because you told her to get lost because you felt your own heart breaking?"_ I didn't answer her or tell her otherwise because, well, it was true. When I broke down Izaya's door and threatened to beat him to a bloody pulp if he so much as touched her. And hearing him say all those things about her, everything they allegedly did together. Seeing her naked in his bed.

"_Seeing is one thing, and hearing is one thing, but believing with all your heart that someone did something is something else entirely. I know you most likely saw Amai in that boy's bed, and I know you most likely heard a lot of things. But do you believe with all your heart that Amai is the sort of person that would do that? So easily no doubt?"_

"…No, but..."

"_What?"_

"You make it seem like Amai likes me, but…I don't think that's possible."

"_Why not?"_

"Because it doesn't make any sense for her to like someone like me."

"_Heiwajima-kun, you remind me of my husband when he was younger. Different from the rest, and violent most of the time. And if you're anything like him, then I know that it's perfectly logical for Amai to like you so much."_

"How would you know that?" I asked her, leaning away from the lamp post to continue walking home.

"_Because I know my daughter. And if she let you somehow worm your way into her heart, then you must be a pretty great guy."_ I felt myself blushing and ran a hand through my hair in slight embarrassment.

"I-I…I mean she…she thinks that?"Shit! I'm acting like a teenager.

"_Take it from a dying woman's opinion, life's too short to waste time on 'what if's' and asking yourself what someone thinks of you, when really, you should ask them flat-out."_

"You're not dying."

"_What?"_

"With that much energy, there's no way you're dying anytime soon."

"_Aww~ such the sweet kid. Promise me something. The next time you see Amai, let her talk."_

"Yeah, I promise."

She hung up after I promised her, and I closed the phone, slipping it into my pocket and walking up the few flights of stairs to my apartment. I didn't know when the next time I would see Amai would be, but it should have been obvious when I found my door unlocked.

Amai's POV~

I was bored out of my freaking skull. Four hours I've been sitting here waiting for the blond jackass to come home, although in retrospect, he was a bodyguard for a debt collector who would, no doubt, shake down deadbeats for the money they owed him at night.

'_At least Shizuo has a TV,'_ I thought, flipping through random channels until I stopped on a baseball game. I didn't know which teams were playing, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

'_I bet when Shizuo comes back, it's going to be all awkward and weird. No, he's probably going to tell me to leave. Maybe he'll yell at me. Can't blame him really. If I thought Shizuo was sleeping with that bitch Sara Tsukimaru, I'd probably yell at him to and tell him to hit the pike. Probably kick her ass for good measure. Tch, like I haven't done _that_ before,'_ I thought boredly, watching the pitcher throw a curve ball and the man at bat hit it into the foul zone like a noob.

I looked down at the table in front of me, a pail of cookies, a boxed cake, and—the most dreaded of all—a pack of cigarettes. It almost killed me when I bought them, and I almost killed the doof behind the counter when he called me a kid and told me to 'get my ass out of his store'.

"So stupid. 'Storm the castle' she says. 'Bribe him into letting you talk' she says. They're good ideas, but they won't work if he doesn't listen, Mom," I said aloud, falling onto my back and spreading my arms out wide, staring up at the ceiling with bored eyes. Beside me I heard the door creak open and turned my head to watch as the black-and-white bodyguard stepped in through the door, mild surprise on his face, like he somehow knew I was there.

'_Maybe I should've locked the door after I broke in,' _I thought, sitting up straight and scrambling to stand up so I could get a word in before he started doing whatever violent thing he might or might not do.

"Oh good, you're back. I thought I'd have to wait all night because of the whole 'bodyguard to a debt collector' thing, but it looks like you got back earlier than expected and I'm rambling on because I didn't know you'd be back early…at ten-thirty at night," I said stupidly, glancing over at the clock o the wall and shifting nervously in place.

He kinda just stared at me, a whirlwind of emotions flashing through his face and body until it settled on a mix of curiosity and weariness. "Yeah. Tom said you were next on the list and he sent me home," he told me, closing the door behind him and removing his shoes, all the while watching me with a slight glare.

"Oh thank God. Then I dodged a bullet by coming here instead of going home. Yeah, didn't have any money after I got a few things," I said, sighing a breath of relief and silently reminding myself to once again thank my Mom for making me come here with only her words.

"Why are you here?" he asked me, unclipping his bow tie and letting it hang loose around his neck.

"Well, after spending the last two weeks in a red haze of being sad and alone and breaking a lot of things—arms, noses, storefront windows, the whole nine yards of being upset at anyone and everyone—my Mom finally called me out of my pool of self-pity and told me to "storm the proverbial castle" and make you listen to my side of the story or bribe you if you're 'not in the mood' to listen," I explained, rocking back and forth on my heels, all the while wondering if this was the calm before the storm, or if he had somehow changed his attitude in the last two weeks. It seemed more likely to go with the first one, since I doubted anyone could change his attitude towards me so easily.

"What do you mean bribe?" he asked, looking a little confused while he unbuttoned his vest and took it off, laying it down on the kitchen table.

"I figured the best way to make you listen to my side of the story would be to bribe you. And since you don't seem like the type to be bribed with money—not that I have any anyway—I thought this stuff would be the next best thing since I owed you them anyway," I said, bending down next to me and picking up all three offerings. Balancing the pail and the box in one hand so I could show him the smaller box I held with distaste.

"You were going to bribe me into letting you talk with cookies, a cake and cigarettes?" he asked me, like he knew too that me offer was a pittance, even so he couldn't take his eyes off the sweets I held in my left hand. Just goes to show how child-like his taste buds are.

"Yeah, the cookies because of that time I almost poisoned you—sorry again about that. The cake because I owed you one anyway. And the cigarettes because I stole nine packs from you before—even though I still think it's a disgusting habit and ruins your health, but hey, who am I to judge. Now can you please, just _please _let me talk?" I asked him, walking a few steps towards him and setting the desserts down on the kitchen table and throwing him the pack of cigarettes.

He turned the pack over and over in his hands, looking at me as he did so and seemed to come to a conclusion before speaking again.

"One minute."

"Huh?"

"I'll give you one minute to talk," he repeated, folding his arms in front of his chest. Oh, I could _so_ do a minute.

"Cool. So, Naoki-san learned about something I was keeping secret. So he was all like 'you have to tell him' and I'm like 'dude, no' so he locked me in the bathroom and started getting busy on the couch with Taka-chan. So I shimmied down the rain gutter and when I came out of the alley I ran into a guy with glasses. And then he was all like 'We've been looking for you' and I'm like 'Ahh what?' And then these two guys jumped me and put something over my face and then I blacked out. And when I woke up I was handcuffed to a headboard and blindfolded. Which is actually redundant since I wouldn't know where I was anyway and besides that, the only thing I would have seen is a not too shabby apartment bedroom. So anyway, when I woke up Orihara-san was there and said "Looks like you've been out for twelve hours", and I'm like 'Ahh, what's going on?' And then he started saying a bunch of stuff that didn't make any sense. And then he called you. And then you and I talked for like, a minute. And then he took the phone and started saying a bunch of crap and, ah, hello! _Lying_. And then he hung up and started being creepy and ripped my shirt off and said some other stuff that was confusing. And then he pressed another cloth over my mouth. And then I woke up naked and hoped to _God_ that he didn't do anything perverted. And then I called you and you told me to hit the bricks. And that's just about everything. Hah! One minute exactly," I said, looking at the clock on my phone the whole time so as to count the seconds down.

"Why should I believe you?" I could understand this, if there was one thing I learned from liars, extensive details killed whatever shred of truth there was in the story. But still, it pissed me off.

"Oh my God. Shizuo, nuair Izaya dúirt riamh an fhírinne faoi rud ar bith ar fud an domhain? Mar gheall ar sé cinnte mar ifreann nach raibh insint dom an fhírinne faoi cén cineál de dhá-giotán bastaird bhfuil sé, agus tá sé cinnte mar ifreann nach bhfuil trustworthy. I swear, má tá sé seo ar cheann de na, 'd'fhéadfadh sé a bheith ar mo namhaid, ach muinín agam air a lán níos mó ná roinnt strainséir bhuail mé trí mhí ó shin'_, __tá mé ag dul__chun tús le do__asal beag__smarmy__le__ríocht__má insíonn__tú dom__go__bhfuil__an chúis__neamhaird__tú dom an__dhá sheachtain__anuas__. __Agus__má chloiseann__mé aon rud__mar gheall orm__agus__Izaya__ag fáil é i__, __tá mé ag dul__a shove__mo__tosaithe__go dtí seo__i mbun a asal__, __beidh sé__spitting__iallacha__ar feadh míosa__!_" I shouted, saying a bunch of things in a language he didn't understand, but I hoped from the tone of my message he could somehow get what I was saying, even though his face showed only confusion.

"What?" I huffed a sigh in frustration, and dug a hand through my red hair, messing it up before looking back up at him, sticking my hand up, palm facing forward and all five fingers spread out.

"Five. I'm going to answer five questions truthfully and honestly. Any subject, any secret, no holds barred. Got it?" I said, slightly glaring at him. I figured that if I told him the truth to any questions I had evaded, then he would believe me once and for all.

"Do you really cherish that stupid violin so much?" This wasn't really something I had evaded or lied about, so I figured he was asking to grasp how deep my sanity and morals went.

"Of course. That thing is almost a hundred years old. When I got it from my granddad, I had to replace the strings, tailpiece, and fingerboard. So needless to say, if anyone breaks it I will kick their ass," I answered honestly, mentally ticking down the number of questions he was allowed.

"Why didn't you tell anyone what that bastard did to you?" Well that's a little personal.

"Embarrassment, no proof or evidence since I set my uniform on fire, there's a variety of reasons, I don't want to get into it right now." He nodded in understanding, either because he actually understood, or because it would use up his remaining three questions.

"Do all of your brothers have criminal-like skills?" Well…this was unexpected.

"Kind of…my oldest brother Patrick taught us all. Why do you ask?" I asked him, generally confused and all around suspicious of why he would ask such a question.

"Not important. When you kissed me and said something about two truths and a lie, which one was the lie?" he asked most likely thinking back to the week I spent in Hokkaido and before that.

"The lie was that there was a lie. It's like a double bluff, only with one. It's a bluff," I told him, seeing surprise and something akin to clarification light up in his face. Whatever truths I told him must have been something else, 'cause honestly, I couldn't really remember what I told him besides the 'two truths and a lie' part.

"Then you—"

"Careful, this is your last question, better make it count 'cause after that I'm going back to evading and lying like I used to."

Maybe I thought that the last question should be used wisely. Maybe I thought that he wouldn't ask me _that_ question. Maybe I wanted him to ask me _that _question. But when he asked me, I felt myself freeze. Felt myself open and close my mouth like a fish, which, of course, made me look stupid and then I had to close my mouth before opening it again, only to utter the word 'I', stuttering it a bunch of times, and I probably made myself look stupider than when I looked like a fish. All because he asked me _that_ question.

"Do you love me?"


	35. Chapter 35: It's Complicated

**If there's one thing I've learned from reading multiple romance books, the story doesn't end when the girl gets the guy, or the guy gets the girl, because the journey from there can be a whole lot of chaos as well. But personally, I have a few tricks-ahem-ideas I'd like to put on paper in this story.**

"You know, at first I thought this was cruel, but now I think it's kind of fun to watch," Misako noted, smiling a little down at me while my jerk of a brother had me in a head lock, all the while digging his knuckles into my scalp.

"Glad you're enjoying yourself. Hafta tell ya, when I woke up this morning I didn't think I'd be jumped by my brother and his pregnant girl-friend," I responded, clawing my brother's arm in an attempt to escape.

Actually, even yesterday morning, I didn't think I would wake up the way I did. Or go to sleep the way I did. Actually everything in the last twenty-four hours was unexpected. I guess it started when my Mom called me and talked me into taking action, but the real climax was when Shizuo tricked me into a false sense of security.

"Well, when I woke up six months ago and found the spot next to me empty, I didn't know I was going to end up pregnant. So I guess this makes us even," Misako retorted, folding her arms over her stomach and glaring above me at the auburn haired man.

"Misako, I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought you'd freak out if I was there," Kichiro explained, loosening his grip slightly on my neck to address Misako.

"You made me feel like one of your dumb sluts you asshole!" she yelled, uncrossing her arms and setting them down by her sides in clenched fists.

"Misako, you're not like the rest of them. You're my best friend, even more than that. Misako, baby, I love you," he groveled, releasing me from his hold to console her and keep her from stressing out too much.

"If you love me then sign the contract," Misako said, re-crossing her arms and glaring up at him.

'_Contract?'_ I was interested, but not so interested that I would stick around to get beat up by my brother some more. I have to hand it to Misako though, she's no Momo-chan, but she gets the job done in her own way. They continued to argue, and I took that as my cue to slowly crawl away. That is, until Misako noticed me and told Kichiro to 'get me'.

"As much as I enjoy beating my sister up, I don't want to hurt her too badly. She is my sister after all," Kichiro said, hesitating after he grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling me up to my feet and locking my arms behind my back. I swear, one of these days I'll find out how to get out of this hold.

"Did she tell you that she was the one who rated you out to your younger brother?" she asked, setting her hands on her hips and looking at him expectantly. He responded dutifully, releasing my arms and sliding them between my arms and my body, locking his hands behind my head in a Full-Nelson hold. This one I knew how to get out of. There wasn't any finesse, but I could get out of it because of my short stature and knowledge of using my brother's weakness against him.

"Do you know what that little monster has been doing to me?" he asked me, tightening his hold when I started to struggle, only to completely buckle under his own weight when I kicked his knee outward, making him lean against me for support, only to end up flat on his back when I threw him over my shoulder. Unfortunately, since he was never one to let go of his target, women or otherwise, I ended up flipping over with him, flat on my back while we both struggled to get out of a sleeper hold we both pulled on the other.

"Do you realize that I couldn't let you make Colm take the fall?" I asked him, kicking up dust as we rolled around the other, trying to either get up or beat the other senseless. I hate to reminisce in a fight, but I couldn't help but remember the good old days when we used to wail on each other like the children we were. Sadly, he took this pause as an advantage point and broke out of hold, flipping me over onto my stomach and grinding my face into the cement of the paved walkways in the park. While this spectacle had drawn a crowd, or at least a few interested onlookers, the one person I never expected to be watching was the one person that got the whole fight wrong.

The weight on my back was lifted, and m face was no longer pressed against the cement. A few cries around me had me guessing one of two people: Shizuo, which seemed unlikely since he somewhat knew this was my brother. And, even more unlikely than likely, Celty, otherwise known as—

"The Black Rider!" a few people exclaimed as I turned my head to see where she and my brother were, only to find a black shape kneeling on top of my brother, his legs flopping awkwardly as he tried to get the intrusive being off of his back. Celty's motorcycle helmet turned towards me as I got up on my hands and feet, watching bemused as my brothers struggled to free his arms from the one hand binding them together behind his back.

**[Don't worry, Amai. I've got this under control now.]** she one handedly typed, showing me the PDA while I tried unsuccessfully to hold back my laughter, causing her helmet to tilt in what I could only assume was confusion.

"No, no. Celty, that's my big brother. We were just rough housing, you know, for fun," I explained, standing up and dusting myself off before walking towards the headless fairy and pulling her up off of my brother, not bothering to contain the shudder I felt go through me when I touched her. What can I say? Old habits die hard, especially the ones that you've been living in fear of since forever.

She got off of my brother willingly, standing on his back momentarily before stepping off of him, focusing back on her PDA and showing it to me after typing. **[Are you sure? It looked like you were losing.]** It read, making me blush madly and exclaim in protest.

"_I was not! He just caught me off guard!"_

"In your dreams runt, I was winning and you know it," Kichiro muttered, rubbing his sore back while he stood up. "I'll see you later, Amai. I have to go sign something I don't want to sign," he said before walking over to Misako, grabbing her hand and pulling her away with him to who knows where.

**[What does he mean by that?]** Celty asked me, watching with me as Misako protested slightly against his hand holding, but relented nonetheless.

"I don't know. From what I heard about a contract, it seems like Misako is conditioning him," I answered, walking away in the opposite direction to start my shift at my night job. "So what brings you to this neck of the woods?" I asked her as she grabbed her bike and rode it slowly beside me.

**[I was just passing by and saw you two, umm, roughhousing.]** She typed, showing me the small screen.

"Somehow I doubt that. It's not that I don't trust you, but all the times I've met you, Shizuo had something to do with it," I noted, looking at her out of the corner of my eye.

**[Well, I'm curious about what happened last night. Not that Shizuo sent me or anything, but he told Shinra about it and—]**

"And what did he say?" I interrupted her, curious about what he told Shinra. "Not that I care, but what did he tell Shinra?"

**[Well…what are you two now?]** She asked me hesitantly, as if I would bite if she asked any other way. It was almost ironic that she asked me that, the same question Shizuo had asked me this morning after what had happened last night.

"_Wha-bu-I…that's not fair!" I exclaimed, staring up at him indignantly as he looked back, unnaturally calm and expectant._

"_What's so unfair about it? You said you'd answer any question, any secret. No holds barred. Right?" he asked me, turning my words against me. I couldn't say it surprised me, I just thought it'd come at a later date. The confession of my feelings. No way in hell was I revealing my feelings first, not after all the effort I wasted these last few weeks keeping them under wraps._

"_I-I might have said that but…" I tried thinking up an excuse, but none came to mind. At least, nothing that wouldn't make me look like a bitch or a liar._

"_But what?" he asked me, looking somewhat annoyed at my stalling._

"_I…I'm not going to be the one who admits their feelings first!" I shouted taking on the tough guy persona I had adopted over the years. He looked at me questionably, surprised by my sudden outburst._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean…how do I know I'm not setting myself up for heartbreak? How do I know that you don't feel the same way I do? How do I…how do I know…" I asked him, trailing off as I lost steam and the will to fight against the answer bubbling under the surface of lies and deceit and procrastination._

"_How do you know what?" he asked me, growing impatient with my stalling._

"…_know…too," I mumbled, not willing to say it aloud or at all for that matter. _

"_What," he asked me, leaning forward a bit; the annoyed look still etched on his face._

"…_how…love…too" I mumbled a bit louder again, getting impatient myself at this whole mess._

"Will you speak up already?! I can't hear you_," he shouted, obviously pissed that I wouldn't just come out and say it._

"How do I know you love me, too!" _I shouted at him, blushing a very bright red at seeing his shocked face. "W-well? Do I have to repeat myself again or do you hear me?" I asked him, fighting every urge to look and feel embarrassed like a preadolescent teenager with a crush on her senpai._

"_No, I heard you," he said quietly, still staring at me with surprise._

"_Then why don't you answer my question?"_

"_You haven't answered mine yet." He was really pushing my patience. He was right, he was pushing it but he was right._

"_Not unless you tell me first." I was sticking to this to the bitter end, even if the bitter end was something akin to heartbreak and humiliation._

_Shizuo never struck me as the type to do something unexpected. He was a six foot tall, walking brick wall that could hurl lamp posts and vending machines at the drop of a hat, and his anger spiked and fell like a rogue elevator, but that seemed like something to expect from him. Grabbing the sides of my face and pressing his lips against mine in a rough kiss didn't seem like something he normally did. Although, if he _did_ do that often, I don't think I'd like him as much as I do._

_He pulled away after a long…long minute. "Does this answer your stupid question?" he asked me. All the while I was panting slightly because of lack of oxygen, and I was pretty sure it would be a little while before I got the taste of nicotine and caramel out of my mouth. Somehow he always seemed to taste like something sweet._

"_Ah, um, yeah. I think that pretty much sums it up," I said quietly, still shocked by the suddenness of his kiss._

"_Well…then, how do you feel about me?" he asked me, ears turning a dark pinkish color, like _this _was the moment to be embarrassed about, not at all about forcing a kiss on me. Not like I didn't want it though._

"_Shizuo, words don't even begin to describe how I feel about you," I told him, kicking off my stiletto heels from work, and taking slight despair in the fact that I was three inches shorter now, but never taking my eyes off of Shizuo as he took my words the wrong way. He looked away from me and his face seemed to resemble a kind of…sad acceptance._

"_Yeah, I should have known that—"_

"_Shizuo, just shut up and kiss me," I interrupted, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him down to my height, until he snapped out of his surprise and wrapped his arms around my back, pressing me against him in a sort of sweet ache I missed. From there the night became blurry in my mind, maybe it was because of the heat we exuding in droves as he pressed me more and more against his chest and I wrapped my arms and legs around him. Maybe it was because my head was sort of hit against the wall and the door. The wall was unavoidable, but how I hit my head on the bedroom door when he kicked it open, I have no idea._

_It was a wonder how we even fell asleep in the first place—maybe we were both tired, maybe we stopped at some point in the night—but one thing I was sure of was that the knocking on the apartment door and the incessant door bell was what woke us up. While I might have been the first to wake up, Shizuo was the one to get up from the bed and grumble angrily, stalking towards the door much like a bear that just finished hibernating, only to be intercepted by a jackass with a shot gun. What might have been the final nail in the coffin was when the guy started ranting to him. I caught a few bits and pieces while I worked on rousing myself from sleep and saving the poor sap from an early morning beating. Grabbing Shizuo's shirt from the floor and slipping it on over my head, I went out to the main room, seeing a frazzled middle-aged man standing before Shizuo._

"_You left it on all night! And I don't know what you were watching, but my kids could hear it! This was my weekend with them and I had to take them back to their mothers' so they wouldn't be scared for life. What in God's name were you watching?! A porno? Why was it up so loud?! Why was—" I had to stop this before the poor guy got his ass thrown across the city. Coming up behind Shizuo, I snaked my arms around his waist and linked my fingers together over his stomach, the tips of my fingers sneaking under the band of his pants as I peeked up at him from under his arm, face pressed against his naked side._

"_Shizuo, what are you doing? Come back to bed, it's cold-huh? Sorry mister, I must have left the TV on, I didn't realize it was so loud. Please accept my apologizes, would ya?" I asked him, smiling sweetly at him while I silently willed Shizuo to keep his cool and not blow his top like a short-fused firecracker._

"_I-ah-what…is that a girl?" he stuttered incomprehensively, staring amazed at the weird red-haired chick that was me, that dared to spend the night with the infamous Shizuo Heiwajima and produce the seemingly pornographic sounds that made him come over in the first place._

"_Yeah, what about her?" Shizuo asked him, glaring down at him as he continued to stare at me. somehow I felt like this guy didn't know me, either that, or the simple fact that I was half-naked in a shirt that reached my mid-thigh, with her hands in a guy's pants, albeit that it was only the tips of my fingers._

"_Nothing, just…didn't know you had it in you. Congratulations," he said, before walking away in a daze back to the apartment next door. Shizuo closed the door and glanced down at me, a light pink color on his face as I removed my fingers from his pants, and my arms from around his waist._

"_I'll tell you right now, I'm not taking care of any morning wood, so you're on your own," I told him, stretching my arms above my head in a lazy stretch before putting them down quickly, pulling the shirt's edge closer to my knees when he spoke._

"_You're not wearing any pants," he remarked, looking away from me after a quick glance downward._

"_Yeah, well…I don't like wearing my day clothes to bed, alright? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find my pants," I retorted, retreating to the bedroom, my hands keeping the shirts edge down, covering everything necessary._

"_So…about last night," he said to me. I turned to him, only to find that he was still facing away._

"_You'll have to wait a while before we go further. I'm affectionate, not sluty," I told him quickly, not wanting him to get confused._

"_No, not that. I mean…what are we now?" he asked me in all seriousness, looking straight at me, despite the fact that before he couldn't look at me at all after pointing out my underwear. I bit my lip, not sure what to say, but ultimately saying the first thing that came to mind would be the best for this type of situation._

"_You know what I think?" I asked him, walking away from the door to stand in front of him. When he shook his head, I brought my arms up to rest on top of his shoulders, bringing him down a little to my level and smirking a bit. "I think we're a guy and a girl who like each other a lot. And that that sort of talk is something for another day, or week, or month. Point is, it's too early to tell what we are," I said, lowering my voice to a murmur against his lips, kissing him softly before pulling back a centimeter to let him talk._

"_You want to put off the talk as long as possible, don't you," he said point blank, standing relatively still._

"_Bingo. Now come on, we gotta go to work, and as it is we're only half dressed," I said happily while walking back to the bedroom, pulling Shizuo along behind me by his arm._

"It's…complicated," I said to her, shaking myself out of my reverie to answer her question.

**[Are you sure it's complicated? If you like each other, you should date.]** Oh the naiveté of a headless fairy.

"It's not that part that's complicated, it's…well…okay, you've known Shizuo for, like, a decade, right?" She nodded her helmet. "Shizuo has this kind of…innocence I guess that makes it really difficult for me."

**[What do you mean?]** She asked me, stopping her bike in the street, consequentially making me stop with her.

"Okay, it's like…he's inexperienced, and there's this pressure on me to make sure I don't screw these first experiences up for him, ya know?" I said, waving my arms around for no reason to illustrate my point. She tilted her helmet, letting me know that she didn't understand. I sighed, scratching my head and thinking up a better answer than the one I just gave. "I—"

Before I could answer, my cell phone went off and I had to signal to Celty to give me a minute so I could answer it. She sat back on her bike, getting comfortable while I flipped the phone open and barely glanced at the time before answering.

"_Amai-tan? Is this Amai-tan?"_ the voice on the other line said, a voice that seemed barely familiar.

"Yeah, who the hell are you?" I answered, tapping my stilettos impatiently for him to get to the point. The tomboy part of me hated the fact that I had been wearing these ankle-killers all day, the more girly-barely seen the light of day-part of me was overjoyed that I was finally wearing something feminine, the whole part of me was simply impressed by the fact that I was able to walk, run, and kick-ass in these things, all without falling down.

"_Oh, right, you're the rude one. Anyway, this is Tamamura-san, listen, I can only stall for ten minutes max before Akira-san finds out you're thirty minutes late again. So hurry up and get you booty over here!"_

"Tamamura? Where's Minori-chan? He can stall for twice that time."

"_He took the night off for date night. Which reminds me, you're on a double shift tonight to make up for the lack of help," _he said, literally dropping the ball on my minor sleep deprivation, and making me feel torn and conflicted about whether or not to curse Shizuo about keeping me awake half the night. Although if I was honest, I'd admit that the making-out part was awesome and probably the high point of the last three weeks.

"Date night?! He's not part of a middle-aged couple staving off divorce with three bratty kids at home! Well that's just frickin' fantastic. Two miles in ten minutes in three-inch heels! How the _hell _am I supposed to—" suddenly I was aware of the mythical being next to me, and thought to myself: _'What better way than on a shadow encompassed motorcycle-horse with a headless fairy driving?'_

"I'll be there in ten Tamamura-san," I said, shutting the phone and smiling broadly at Celty. "Celty, can I ask you for a favor?"

_DRRR!_

I felt sick. Maybe it was because I'd never been on a motorcycle before. Maybe the speed made me feel dizzy. What I was sure of was that I was shaking worse than a leaf in the wind the whole time I rode behind Celty. And because I had never been on a motorcycle before, when the bike kicked into gear, I had to wrap my arms around Celty's waist in order to not fall off. When the bike finally stopped in front of the club, it took all of my strength to pry myself away from both the bike and Celty, and all of my concentration to stop myself from shaking. _'I guess old habits really do die hard,'_ I thought while shaking my arms to get some feeling into them from the locked bars they used to be.

"Thanks for the ride Celty, and don't mind the shaking, I've just never been on a motorcycle before," I reassured her.

**[That's okay. Do you need a ride home?]** She asked me, holding the screen out to me.

"No, I'm on a double shift, and I get off pretty early in the morning," I explained, waving off her offer and waving goodbye as she drove away from the curb and circled back around to the city.

"There you are. Huh, impressive, you still have three minutes before Akira-san notices you're late," said the same voice from the phone. I turned to find a brunette, medium-height man wearing skinny jeans and a tight tank top behind me, looking impatiently at his watch and tapping his shoe impatiently.

"I didn't peg you as someone to do me a favor, although that describes about ninety-nine percent of the population in Ikebukuro," I commented, walking over to him and smirking at his little-more-than-pissed face.

"It's not a favor for you, it's a favor for Minori-kun," Tamamura stated indignantly, looking away from me to the produce truck parked by the side of the club.

"Tamamura, you guys broke up, I don't know why you're still pining for him," feeling sorry for him, not because he still liked Taka-chan, but because he was being strung along. I guess having a cute face and personality like a yorkie made you prone to being on the hook.

"I am _not_! And just for your information, I broke up with _him_. Now come on, we got work to do," he said, glaring at me before turning on his heel and stalking towards the club's door.

"Yes sir, Tamamura-senpai," I quipped, making him look over his shoulder to glare at me, only for it to turn into one of surprise as he lunged towards me and pulled my arm forward, dragging me out of the way of an oncoming black sedan. We watched—him in surprise and curiosity, me in pissed-off rage—as the car stopped in front of us and the passenger side window slid down, revealing to us a man in a dark gray suit and dark sunglasses with a sort of rough expression that seemed to be permanently etched on his stupid face. Although, maybe that's just my opinion of the guy that almost hit me with his car.

"You Tachibana?" he asked, even through the sunglasses, I could tell he knew which was which, even though Tamamura had a sort of girly face.

"Yeah, who's askin'?" I asked him, straightening up and pulling on a poker face of indifference.

"Get in," he said ignoring my question and beginning to roll the window back up before I spoke out again.

"I said who's asking, moron." Even though his face seemed mad already, it seemed to crease with anger even more.

"Shiki of the Awakusu-kai," the man in the driver's seat answered, leaning over him to speak to me directly. "Now get inside or else."

"No, I got a shift to start and then another shift to pick up," I retorted, crossing my arms in front of my chest and glaring at the both of them.

"Get in the damn car!" Passenger Seat shouted, slamming his fist against the window in anger.

"Amai, it's the Yakuza, just do as they say," Tamamura said quietly, partially hiding behind me in fear of the men inside the car.

"…Shiki sent you?" I asked hesitantly, eyeing the both of them suspiciously.

"Yeah, that's right," Driver answered, still leaning over Passenger Seat.

"Fine, I'll come," I said, waiting patiently for the man in the backseat to get out and wait for me to, unfortunately, ride the hump. Behind me, Tamamura came out of his frozen state and asked me what he should say to Akira-san for my lack of arrival.

"Tell him that the Yakuza have captured me and that their ransom is a night off for Amai-tan. Oh, and if I turn up in Tokyo bay with cement-shoes, he should forward my paycheck to Minori-chan as rent payment," I said, joking a bit with the last request, but seeing as how this was the Awakusu, and the last time I had met them I had almost been figuratively fed to the lions, anything was possible.

"We should arrive in ten minutes Tachibana-san," Driver said, pulling away from the curb and working his way out to the inner rim of the city.

"Take your time, I've got all night," I responded, crossing my legs one on top of the other and leaning back against my seat, glancing out the window at the setting sun, trying to estimate how long this encounter would take, as well as guess what the hell Shiki wanted.

'_Gonna be a long night indeed.'_


	36. Chapter 36: The First of Many

**I feel like I'm procrastinating because, as much as I hate to say this, the story will eventually come to an end—come on, it has to happen sometime, although personally I hope to hit forty chapters before then. As to how and when, I can honestly tell you…I have no idea. I have an idea, a few actually, but I'm still figuring out where to put them. Maybe I should start investing in outlines more. So whatever may happen—finish or start—I hope you all, my dear readers, stick with this story to its ends.**

"Sorry for the wait. Did my men treat you well?"

"If you excuse the squished car ride and being shoved into a chair, and having your hands handcuffed behind your back for four hours…then yeah, they've treated me well," I replied, crossing my legs and then uncrossing them when my wrists strained against the metal of the handcuffs. "You know, if you were busy, you could've sent for me later on in the night, I could've gotten paid then."

"Duty is as duty calls. Business springs up at the most inconvenient of times when you're in this line of work," Shiki explained, sitting back in his chair, his two muscle guys standing behind him like dutiful guard dogs.

"I guess so. So…what is this about? No offense to you or anyone else, but I don't want to waste my time on something stupid," I said, leaning my head against the back of the chair in slight comfort.

"I'll get right to the point then so we don't waste _my_ time. It's not that I disrespect you, Amai, it's just that you beat up a few of my guys, and you need to pay penance."

"How was I supposed to know I wasn't supposed to walk in on an illegal deal?"

"You're not supposed to, that's the problem. What were you doing in an abandoned warehouse anyway?" Shiki asked me, taking out a cigarette and putting it to his lips, one of his guys leaning forward with a lighter, the flame touching the end of the cigarette, glowing bright in the muted light, a small smoke trail rising from the end as he inhaled the acidic smoke and blew it out in a single column. Tapping the end of the stick on the edge of a porcelain ash tray, he looked across the low table at me, patiently waiting for an answer.

"I'm under the impression that the Yakuza are the type to shoot first and ask questions later. I'd have figured that my legs would've been broken and I'd be one-third of the way back to my house by now," I said, dodging the question until my curiosity was quenched.

"I'd rather have a good excuse then willingly break a pretty girl's legs."

"Ever the charmer."

"You know it."

"Do I get a lawyer present or am I to solve this case by myself?"

"We go back far enough to not need lawyers."

"Probably for the best anyway. My lawyer's are either sleeping or pleasing their ladies anyway," I said, kicking my feet up onto the coffee table and crossing my stiletto heels at the ankle, smirking lazily at his glowering face.

"So why were you at the warehouse anyway?" he said, tapping more cigarette smoke into the ash tray and ignoring my feet.

"No particular reason. I was just ambling around all depressed like. Look, I'm not going to explain this in extraneous detail. Come on, we're close, right? Just let me off the hook," I partially begged, referring to things that were long past and done with. Maybe I was appealing to his better nature, whatever nature that was, I couldn't remember anymore, but I already knew he wouldn't let me off the hook.

"I've let you off the hook enough. You beat up four guys, it's an unavoidable situation."

"To be fair they started it."

"With you, it's always everyone else who starts it."

"They had a gun! What was I supposed to do, let them shoot me?" I asked him, dropping my feet to the floor and leaning forward as far as the handcuffs would let me.

"Did you even try talking to them and convincing them otherwise?" Either he didn't know me at all, or he was getting tired of this whole charade, which was pretty much obvious since he was resting his chin on the hand that held his cigarette, looking at me like he was tired of me or my attitude.

"Yeah, I said, "Please don't shoot! My life's sad and pathetic enough!"" he looked at me confused for a second before I explained that I'd been having a depressing few weeks. Stupid Shizuo and his petty, child-like behavior, it was cute sometimes, but when it didn't work in my favor, it was downright annoying. Although, maybe that's my point of view from being dissed for two weeks.

"Look, can you remove the handcuffs at least? I'm not fast enough to run out of here without getting caught. You should know, you're the one that caught me the first time less than twenty seconds after I got up from the chair," I said, trying to bargain for a little freedom, and to maybe stretch my legs after four hours of sitting in a chair.

"From what I heard a couple months ago, you were fast enough to catch Shizuo Heiwajima," he commented, smirking a little at me, taking another drag off of his cigarette.

"Tch, yeah well, he was just getting started, and to be fair I cheated by taking side streets to tackle him to the ground." I don't know what it was about Shiki, maybe it was the fact that he was part of the Yakuza, or maybe it was because he was one of the few people in the city who actually liked me as a person, but he seemed to always bring out the boastful side of me that hadn't seen the light of day since high school.

He gave a small gesture with his hand and one of his guys moved behind me started fiddling with the cuffs, eventually they loosened and my brought my hands forward to rub at my sore wrists. _'I swear, if one more person puts a pair of handcuffs on me, I'll hog tie them with them and leave them in a dumpster,'_ I thought irritably, grimacing at the red lines that seemed to be forever etched on my wrists.

"Listen, the worst we're going to do to you is probably break your—what are you doing?" he asked me when I stood up from the chair and started jogging around it as a way to stretch out my legs without causing a misunderstanding.

"What's it look like? I'm jogging. What, you expect me to sit in that chair another hour while you talk down to me?" I asked him, jogging in place to address him directly.

"It looks like you're warming up to run out of here. Just sit down and act at least a little serious. You're making these guys anxious," he said, annoyance spread over his face.

"Come on, Shiki. You're going to tell me that you'll have one of these tools break my fingers. I'm going to beg for forgiveness on my knees, but we all know I don't mean it. Then you'll do the hand trick and have your guys escort me from the building. And then I'll show up here again in seven months and we'll be right back where we started. So let's just cut the crap and get straight to it, shall we?" I said, hoping to at least catch the second shift at the club.

He gave me something that looked like the cross between a grimace and a smirk before speaking in a low tone of voice to his guys before looking back at me and snapping his fingers, causing his men to move to either side of me and pin me between them, grabbing my arms and spreading them out from my sides.

"Hey, hey! What're you doing?!" I shouted, flailing my legs in a sad attempt to get my arms free.

"Think of this as an insurance that you don't beat up any more of my guys," Shiki said, standing up from his chair, snuffing out his cigarette and coming to stand in front of me.

"Hey, come on, I need those for work!" I pleaded, jerking my arms when her took hold of my fingers and started bending them backward. It was when they were almost at the breaking point and when I thought there was nothing more painful than having your fingers broken, that one of his guys came running in, shouting the one thing I would have been upset about had it been other circumstances.

"Boss! Shizuo Heiwajima's here! He's inside the building!" he said, thankfully making Shiki pause in his torture method, my pointer and middle finger still held in his grasp at a frightful ninety degree angle.

"Bring him to me, I'd like to know why he's here," Shiki said, releasing my fingers and walking back to his seat, snapping his fingers and making his guards release me. "Let's leave the last few minutes between us. There's no need to get Heiwajima involved."

I rubbed my fingers, working out the soreness at the base and glaring down at him from where I stood. "Does this mean I'm off the hook?" I grumbled, not even trying to disguise the anger in my voice.

"For now, but the next time you pull that kind of shit, it'll be more than just your fingers I'll break," he said, threatening me, putting another cigarette between his lips and lightening it up. "Got that miss 'Bipolar Fireball'?"

"Crystal," I muttered, grimacing at the nickname some unknown bastards gave me some number of months ago.

"Boss, he's here," I heard behind me, preceded by a few knocks on the door.

"Amai, what the hell are you doing here?" I heard Shizuo's gruff voice behind me, but I dared not turn from the slightly amused man in front of me.

"Making shitty mistakes and unclear deals," I answered, dropping my hands to my sides when I felt his larger hand touch my shoulder, slightly pulling me backward towards the door we had entered through.

"Come on, you're supposed to be at work," Shizuo said, dropping his hand from my shoulder to grip my hand, pulling me along behind him while I continued to glare challengingly at Shiki while he, in turn, spoke conversationally to me.

"It was good to see you again after all this time Amai, too bad it was under this kind of circumstances."

"Yeah, I'm sure," I muttered, turning my back on him finally to follow Shizuo out of the building, all the while keeping half my focus on navigating in my heels and the other half on keeping my blushing face in check. Blushing. I can't believe myself. Blushing because a boy was holding my hand and walking beside me down the street, and…stupid hormones.

"Hey, thanks for coming when you did. Dude was about to break my fingers," I commented, flexing the fingers of my left hand unconsciously before jumping in surprise when Shizuo spoke.

"Are you a dumbass? What the hell were you doing there?!" Shizuo said loudly, glaring back at me as he pulled me down the street towards what I could only assume was my workplace.

"I can't tell you, but the real question should be: how'd you know I was there?" I asked him, looking at him quizzically since the only person I knew that would know I was there was a low down dirty bastard.

"Celty," he said simply, looking ahead at the crosswalk while we crossed the street.

"How'd Celty know?"

"I don't know, she just texted me that you were in some kind of trouble. Guess you weren't since you two seemed chummy."

"The guy was going to break my finger. And what do you mean?" I said stupidly, looking up at him as he continued to look straight ahead.

"How do you guys know each other?" he asked me, glancing down at me quickly before looking straight ahead again.

"Why do you ask? Do you guys know each other?" I asked him out of curiosity.

"No, but you seemed pretty friendly," he said, his voice dropping an octave, either out of annoyance or irritation I couldn't tell, but I was almost sure he sounded…

"I guess. I met him the second month I was here, but we don't see each other that often anymore," I answered, watching his features carefully for any hint besides his tone and words that he was jealous.

"Oh. So then…did you two ever…" he said, almost unsure of how he wanted to phrase his question, or if he wanted to know the answer at all.

"No, we mostly fooled around, but we never did anything serious," I answered, the words flying out of my mouth before I could seriously think of what to say. It must have been second nature for me to say things like that. It was obvious by the tightening of his hand around mine that what I said upset him. Maybe I could turn this around before he starts hurling things…at me.

"Shizuo, I'm kidding…he mostly stayed at second-base." Maybe I just liked seeing him jealous; it was pretty much a first for me since almost none of my previous boyfriends ever felt the need to be. Then again, I didn't want to screw this up for my own personal amusement.

"Kidding again! Geez, calm down. We're just simple acquaintances, met him two years ago when I beat up one of his guys. Threatened to cement my shoes," I said, unwinding my fingers from his tight grasp and pulling his sleeve, gesturing for him to lean down to my level and pecking him on the lips.

"Come on, have you had dinner yet? 'Cause I could make us something. My way of apology for screwing with you today, as well as a celebration that I still have use of my fingers," I said, wiggling my fingers in his face and smirking at his bewildered expression.

"What about work?" he asked me, grasping my hand with his again and pulling them back down to our sides. Despite asking me, he turned us around anyway and we started heading back to his house.

"Tamamura-senpai saw me getting taken by the Yakuza, so I'm sure I'm off for the night. Did you eat yet? 'Cause I haven't eaten since three," I said, continuing the odd conversation of food.

"What do you wanna make?" he asked me, looking down at me instead of looking ahead at the street like before.

"Stir-fry rice? You add, I'll stir?" I was never one for dates; actually I didn't have much experience in them since there wasn't much to do way back when, the only consolation being that Shizuo would hopefully not know if I screwed it up or not. But…somehow I felt like this was something that counted as one, and it felt like it would be a really nice one between the two of us.

_DRRR!_

"That's absurd! Never? Not even a small crush on your senpai?" I asked him, taking a break from stuffing my face full of half-burned rice to take what he said seriously.

"Not really. All the girls in school were annoying. And a lot of my time was spent fighting random douche bags," he said, eating another spoonful forkful of stir-fry, looking over at me with a dull expression.

"What about out of school? No one spiked your interest?" I asked him, finding it hard to believe that a healthy, young specimen of the male species had no middle school crushes, or high school heart-breaks.

"Well…there was one when I was kid. But I got over it," he said, eating another forkful of colorful fried rice.

"Come on! Tell me~ so far the only romantic interest I know about is me. And I already know all about me," I said, begging slightly while pointing my fork at myself before taking another bite.

"…You know that I woman from the bakery…?" he trailed off, glancing around the room at anywhere but me.

"…You had a crush on a woman three times your age?"

"You're the one that asked in the first place!" he said, suddenly getting defense.

"Oh, no, I'm not making fun of you. I'm just worried that I'll lose you to a forty-year-old cougar with a five-year-old face." Okay, I was half making fun of him, but if he asked me, I'd probably tell him about my crush on my violin instructor just to even out the playing field. I wouldn't tell him on my own though, that'd be too embarrassing.

"Hmph, don't count on it," he said, setting his bowl and fork down on the table, contents empty, as he stood up, picking up the dishes and walking around me to place them in the sink.

"Why not? I've given you grief about being jealous. You should be happy that I'm on the other end," I said, copying his movements to stand beside him, placing my dishes in the hot water before picking up a dry towel.

"Because I don't want to screw this up. And because I doubt I'd find another girl like you," he said, removing his hands from the dish water to place them on either side of my face, kissing me at least four times as long as my mere peck.

"Shizuo, that's the most fruiticiously sweet line I've ever heard. And lucky for you I like sweet things, or else I'd give you hell for making me wet," I said, using the towel to dry off my face after Shizuo returned to washing dishes.

"What about you?" he asked me, handing me a frying pan from the depths of the sink.

"What about me?" I asked confused, taking the pan from his hand and drying the edges.

"You haven't told me about any of your relationships," he said, pausing in his work to look me in the eye.

"Shizuo, believe me when I tell you that the only things you need to know is that my longest relationship was five months, and only three ever got serious," I said, setting the dry pan on the counter and waiting for him to get back to washing.

"That's all you're going to say? That's not fair," he said growling a bit in frustration that I was being so secretive after I had forced him to tell me something he obviously didn't want to tell me.

"I'd rather end this night on a happy note than a sour one. Not to mention that want to break my record. So the less you know, the better," I answered him, taking dishes and silverware from his hand and setting them beside me on the counter after drying them. "I'll see you later," I said, folding the towel in a neat wad and heading towards the front door, only to be stopped by his deep voice.

"You can spend the night if you want." I stopped and turned back to him.

"I really can't. As much fun as it was freaking out your neighbor, I don't want to come off as someone cheap. And besides, I don't have clothes for tomorrow here" I told him, turning back to the door, only to be stopped halfway when he spoke again.

"I can walk you back if you want."

"Shizuo, I'm a big girl now. I think I can handle walking down a few streets and alleyways," I said, feeling a little annoyed that he wouldn't let me leave. When it seemed that he would say nothing more, I turned again and went to the door. Only when my hand touched the handle did he speak again and set off my nerves.

"Amai."

"Oh for the love of God, _what_ Shizuo?!" I shouted, whirling around to face him, my face morphing from anger to shock when I felt his fingers weave into my now shoulder-length hair and his mouth press over mine in a hot, smoky, stir-fry flavored kiss, pulling back after a few seconds to say:

"See you later," before reaching around me and pulling the door open, holding it while I worked my way out of my surprise and repeated back dumbly before leaving his apartment, the door closing quietly behind me as I walked down the outside hall and down the steps to the side walk, floating in and out of a cloud as I walked home.

_DRRR!_

When I got home, my shock had transformed into a pleasant warmth in my belly and mind. Until I opened the door that is, when I found a single man lying on the black couch, a small dust-speckled kitten—the only one in the litter that remotely resembled her mother—curled in his hands on top of his stomach.

"Hey. What happened to date night?" I asked him, stepping out of the pepper-red heels and laying my fedora on top of the fridge—the only thing in the apartment I felt safe enough to touch.

"What happened to work?" he retorted, painted nails absentmindedly stroking the kitten—dubbed dusty by the man petting her.

"The Yakuza picked me up, and then Shizuo saved my fingers from being broken," I said, short and sweet in favor of hearing the reason why he looked a lot like the me from last week.

"Did you thank him properly?" he asked no amount of emotion in his voice other than the slight curiosity.

"If you mean half burned dinner and a good night kiss, then yeah, I thanked him properly," I said, walking over to the couch, lifting his stocking-covered feet up and plopping myself down in the seat, setting his feet in my lap.

"That's nice," he remarked, his eyes never leaving the Dusty.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you? Eight hours ago I was made aware of a certain "date night" and was super pissed about a double shift, and then I come home to find that Naoki-san is _not_, in fact, getting it in. So what the hell happened, and should I, or should I not go over to his apartment and kick his ass again?" I asked him, feeling annoyed at the lack of emotions I had felt irritated by since day twelve.

"Naoki had to cancel 'cause of work. He came over for a little bit to drop off Sea Shell, but left soon after," he answered, making my head fall back against the couch in exasperation at his over-rated reaction.

"…This is the first time I've heard that Naoki-san has a job. What is it?" I asked him, picking up the little sand colored kitten and setting him on top of Taka-chan's feet, leaving him to crawl up and down his stockings playfully.

"He's the head of the sales department at clothing head quarters down town. I like him in a suit, but I hate when he has to travel." I guess another exception to his skirts and dresses rule was when he was pouty and depressed. The sad thing was he wasn't wearing pants.

"Well…while his job is a surprise, it sounds pretty important. So…you know, hang in there," I said, trying to comfort him.

"Like you're one to talk. You see your boyfriend so often, it's like you're stalking each other," he said, dismissing my attempt to help.

"Whatever. Where's Moo-Moo and Shizu-chan? Or are they upset that I have a boyfriend too?" I asked him, pushing his feet off of my lap, Sea Shell now lying on the arm rest next to me, looking at us with curious eyes. I didn't bother refuting the boyfriend comment wince it would be pointless to try, and if I were asked, I would most likely confirm that Shizuo and I are dating.

"Shizu-chan is in the sink playing with a dish rag and Moo-Moo is…I think the last time I checked she was in your old apartment eating mice. Which reminds me, when are you moving out?" he asked me, his head peeking up above the edge of the couch in mild interest and boredom.

"Why so eager? Want your couch back?" I asked him, picking Shizu-chan up out of the sink while he hissed at me in annoyance.

"I'd have bet money that as soon as you and Heiwajima-kun "gotten together", you two would have started living together by now."

"'Gotten together?' what's _that_ supposed to mean?" I asked him, scratching the little blond kitten behind his ears while he in turn purred in content.

"Beast with two backs, bumping uglies, burying a bone, sexual intercourse. Pick one, they all mean the same thing," he said nonchalantly, stifling laughter as he watched my face morph from mild confusion, to a virgin blush, to mild anger.

"We haven't yet, you old perv. We're waiting."

"Who exactly is 'we'?"

"Okay, _I'm_ waiting. Can't really blame me though after my last sexual encounter," I muttered, partially hoping he didn't hear me. He did, but whatever.

"What happened last time? Is this the one who dumped you last year?" he asked, suddenly perking up at the oh-so-interesting topic that was, apparently, my sex life.

"Yeah. The tool said I was sexually frigid and had the nerve to tell me that sex is ninety percent of a relationship," I growled, "God! That shit really pisses me off!" I yelled kicking a nearby chair leg and sending it flying across the room, the cat in my hands meowing like nothing happened.

"I wouldn't say it's as high as ninety—which just says the douche was as horny as a triceratops—but I think it's important to be sexually compatible, don't you?" Taka-chan said, stating his input.

"So nothing less than fireworks?" I asked half-heartedly, glancing over at him in slight interest.

"Maybe you should try it with Heiwajima-kun? You never know till you find out if you're, literally, made for each other."

I smiled wryly at him before answering his contemplation. "I don't like to jump into sex early in a relationship, and I feel that it may be a while before we actually go that far. But…"

"But?"

"Shizuo's unpredictable, sexually innocent, easy to get along with if you know how not to piss him off, and he makes me happy."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying it won't happen till it happens and if it happens soon—not saying or denying if it does—I don't want it to change our relationship. Now get off my bed-couch, I've got work in the morning," I said, shooing him off the couch and placing Shizu-chan on top of the cushion, stripping myself of my work clothes and pulling on my sweat pants and tank top, letting myself fall to the couch in preparation for a tomorrow that might as well be just as unpredictable as today was.


	37. Chapter 37: From Bad To

**Recently I've started adding cover art to my stories. Simple, easy pics I've altered to look awesome on a site called picmonkey. On the same site, I created a couple title pics. Personally I think it turned out pretty cool. As usual, please leave a review of your honest (kidding! No seriously) thoughts on the chapter, and if possible the cover art.**

"Okay, it's super simple, Shizuo. Instead of a ball, it's a can. And instead of a bat, it's a stick—a metal stick that I call a bat, but a stick nonetheless. And all you have to do is hit it as hard as you can," I explained, holding up an empty can of beer and signaling the arc of descent over the edge of the roof of my building and the roof's nearest the apartment building.

"What's with the cans?" he asked me.

"Well, it's a button-up, but I didn't think it was _that_ revealing," I said, looking down to the plain white shirt that I guess, for lack of better terms, displayed my womanly curves.

"No, the cans. The cans in the bag, where'd you get them all?" he asked me, looking pointedly, and a little flustered, at the two plastic bags filled with cans and bottles next to me.

"We go through a lot of sodas and alcohols at work and I thought it'd be more fun to use them for batting practice," I said happily, before holding up a six-pack of beer. "Not this though, this is for us."

"I don't drink. The taste is too bitter," he said, looking distastefully at the cans.

"And yet you smoke."

"We're not going through this again."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just stating a simple observation."

"Amai, just drop it, okay?

"Fine, but only since you asked so nicely," I said sarcastically, snapping a can off the plastic ring and lifting the tab, gulping down a few mouthfuls of the bitter liquid.

"Sorry."

"S'okay," I said nonchalantly, reaching down behind one of the bags and picking up a couple bottles of milk. "Don't worry, I got your other fix since I know you oh-so-well," I said cheekily watching him grab one out of my hand and unscrew the top, drinking well over half of it before speaking to me again.

"So how do I do this? Do you just throw it to me?" he asked, picking up the bat on the ground and giving it once over before looking down at me slightly confused.

"In the interest of not having glass enter my facial area, we're going to do this tee-ball style," I said, picking up an empty can of grape soda and setting it on top of a crate I had brought up earlier via the giant hole in my former ceiling—the same hole that me and Shizuo had climbed up through.

"T-what?"

"Just hit the can on the crate and watch it fly away," I said shortly, taking a few steps back and taking another drink of my bottle as Shizuo one handedly hit the can with the edge of the bat, only his head turning to watch the can fall off the edge of the roof top. He looked back at me, one raised eyebrow as if to say: "How is this fun?"

"Try both hands this time and more power," I said, biting my lip to keep from either laughing at his confusion, or crying at the fact that he could hit a deadbeat half way across the city with a stop sign, but couldn't put more power into his swing than my cat could.

He tried again, both hands on the bat this time and took a step closer to the newly placed can. Maybe it was the form, or the wrong hand placement that made him hit the can straight into the nearby apartment building window. I guess it was a good thing that building had been vacated for thirty years.

"Okay, I think it's pretty obvious that your parents never signed you up for Little League, so here's what we're going to do," I said, putting down the bottle of Jack and grabbing another can from the trash bag, setting it on top of the crate before moving to stand behind him. "I'll position you and walk you through it and then you'll do it on your own, 'kay?" I grabbed his belt and moved him back an inch, when I couldn't see over his shoulder—no surprise there—I ducked under his arm, standing with my back to his chest and his arms encircling me to hold the bat out before us.

"Okay, first off, if you're right handed, you hold the bat like so—right hand above left at the base of the bat." I grabbed his hands and switched them around, closer together and nearer the base of the bat. "Next, keep your feet planted at all times, your body can move, but keep your feet planted," I said, looking down at his shiny black shoes next to mine, kicking them a little to make sure they were well planted, earning a small growl from the man behind me, but paying no heed to it.

"Okay, now when you swing, you want to rotate your body with it." At this, I removed his hands from the bat, setting them on my waist so he could feel what I meant about rotation. His hands gripped my sides tightly, thumbs digging small circles into my lower back as I picked the bat up off of the ground. I gave a few mock swings letting him feel the muscles in my waist as I swung the bat. Although behind me I could feel something else.

"Okay, the last thing is all about power. Here, put your hands back on the bat, right over mine." He moved his hands from my waist, albeit a little hesitantly, and placed his larger ones over my smaller ones, following my movement and to let the bat touch the edge of his button-up.

I let the bat swing from shoulder to shoulder in a wide arc, out of my control, the can in front of me disappearing from its place atop the crate and soaring high and long in an arc over the nearest few residential buildings. "See? Easy as pie." I looked behind me to see him watch it fall away behind some decrepit building, a look I couldn't distinguish on his face, like a type of mild concentration mixed with concern and slight anguish. "What's the matter?" I asked him my hands dropping away from the bat while I turned in place to face him, still in the slight embrace his arms made before he let them drop to his side, the bat clutched in his hand.

"Why are we doing this, Amai?"

"'Cause I'm too lazy to drop these off at the recycling plant at this time of night," I answered, turning to look at him, leaning my hip against the crate before standing straight again when it tipped beneath my weight. He gave me a look which I took to say: that's only half the truth, now tell me why the hell you brought me up to the roof of this rat-infested building. I may have been paraphrasing. "Okay, so I thought after the day you've had, you deserved to let off some steam, and since I was banned from the batting cages, I thought this would be the next best thing."

"What was wrong with today?" he said, looking generally confused.

"Besides the fact that you threw three men twice your weight through an apartment wall simply because they said, "I don' gots the money. So get the hells outta my face"? Granted that's a pretty regular day for you, but the aftermath was unacceptable," I explained calmly, like a teacher explaining something relatively easy to a dumbass.

"You're not my mom. You can't tell me what to do," he said indignantly, slipping his free hand inside his pants pocket and pulling out the "slim stick of many names", putting it between his lips before delving back into his pocket for his lighter.

"No, but I am your girlfriend, which means I can do this," I said, plucking the cigarette from his lips and sticking my tongue out at him childishly when his brows furrowed in mild irritation and his eyes narrowed into a slight glare. "And since you're such a virgin I can do this."

Not to say the last three weeks of our relationship weren't fun, but they were…unprogressive. Not that I didn't mind it or didn't expect it from a guy like Shizuo who was too afraid of himself to let him do anything fun, it was just kind of…irritating. So when I stuck the cigarette in my bra underneath my white button down from work, he glared at me, jaw clenched, a feint vein in his forehead as he tried to keep his cool, and his hands clenched into fists. When he opened his mouth to speak however, a certain cross-dressing barista made his presence known via the hole in the roof top, causing the ticked blonde in front of me to lower his pissed-off attitude a notch.

"Is this a date night? Or can anyone join?" he asked, leaning his head against one hand in a lazy 'I-caught-you' gesture, a mild smile plastered on his face.

"It's more of a "letting off steam" party. So if you're pissed at anything, you're free to vent it out," I told him, grabbing Shizuo's clenched hand and bringing it up to show him the make-shift bat. In my mind I silently thanked him for getting me out of an argument neither of us were going to win.

"Sure, but I don't really have anything to vent," Taka-chan said, pulling himself the rest of the way out of the hole and onto the roof, dusting off his jeans before making his way over to us. As per usual, he smiled widely at Shizuo, and just because it ticked me off that he was being semi-flirtatious because of the whole 'cuddling' incident no more than a month ago, I said to him the last thing he wanted to hear, a big mistake on my part.

"Hey, Taka-chan, how are you and Naoki-san doing?"

"Gimme that bat," he said, smile disappearing from his face, instead being replaced by a fearsome scowl as he glared at the both of us. Shizuo, being used to giving and receiving looks of hatred and anger, merely handed over the bat, not even batting an eye in his direction as Taka-chan stalked past us, reaching into one of the plastic trash bags and withdrawing a glass bottle, slamming it down on the crate and rearing back the bat, letting it rush forward in a violent swing, shattering the bottle into small shards, the only thing left whole of the bottle being the bottom which sat unperturbed upon the crate.

"Umm…Taka-chan…is something wrong?" I asked him hesitantly while Shizuo walked away from the slightly disturbing scene, back to the edge of the building to sit back and drink the rest of his milk.

"No. Why would you assume that?" he asked me, his voice pressured and sharp as he dug out another empty bottle before smashing it to bits with the blunt edge of the bat. It was almost like he was envisioning the bottle as Naoki-san's head.

"'Cause the last time you did something violent was when you caught that guy cheating on you last year," I said vividly remembering the twenty-four hour time period he had been in a holding cell after sending the cheating bastard to traction.

"Che, please, Naoki doesn't have the backbone to even _think_ about cheating on me," he said, smashing another bottle.

"Hey, Taka-chan, I'll be right back. I think I'm neglecting my boyfriend," I told him, looking back behind me to see Shizuo slip another cigarette from his pocket and light it up as he sat back against the small wall that made up the ledge.

"Bring me back a beer when you're done," he said flippantly, smashing another bottle, this time making short work of the process by throwing the bottle at the wall of the next building. I frowned, slightly pissed that my night was being commandeered by a man who wore a skirt five days out of the week. Saying nothing, I walked away from him and towards the man currently nursing a bottle of milk in between bouts of cigarette smoke. Wordlessly I sat beside him upwind of where the smoke was trailing away into the less-than-fresh air, watching Taka-chan swing the bat silently while I downed the rest of my beer.

"So…sorry the night kinda turned into…whatever _this_ is," I said, looking down at the empty can in my hands, turning it over and over awkwardly in my hands.

"I have to go home anyway. Don't know why I came over in the first place," he said, snuffing out the cigarette when the wind started to carry the smoke towards me, making my eyes sting at the smoke's intrusion.

"I think it started when you offered to walk me home from the club, climaxed when I asked if you wanted to do something fun, and ended when Taka-chan stopped a fight before it started," I surmised, ticking the series of events off on my fingers.

"If I'm late, I'll just tell Tom it's your fault," he said, emptying the bottle of milk in one smooth movement before setting it down on the other side of him, his hands lying lazily on his outstretched legs as he turned his head slightly to look at me, the hint of a milk moustache edging his upper lip. My lips turned up at the corners in an amused smile at his childish look. Reaching a hand up, I wiped it away, simultaneously bringing him closer until my lips touched his. What started out slow and sweet turned wet and heavy when I awkwardly got into a kneeling position beside him. He didn't take much notice of it besides tilting his head up a bit because of my difference in height, and I used that to my advantage to bite his lip and slip my tongue inside his mouth. Using that as a distraction, I moved one leg over his lower body and wrapped my arms around his neck, straddling his waist and feeling the other thing in his pants wake up after the ten minute reprieve caused by Taka-chan. I felt his arms encircle my waist and draw me closer to his body while he played with my tongue, and I would have gone into seventh heaven had a jealous gay man not thrown an empty can at the back of my head, causing me to bite my tongue and pull back in surprise. Swiveling around slightly in my seat upon Shizuo, I glared furiously at the long haired man as he glared menacingly at me, hands on his hips in a gesture that reminded me of the times my father had caught me in the barn with a boy from school. The only difference being that if I pissed Taka-chan off, I'd be without a couch to sleep on and call temporarily my own.

"_Hey!_ Less lip-locking, more walking! You!" he said, pointing a long painted fingernail at the man underneath me, "You have work to go to in the morning, and it's already one in the morning. And you, Princess Delinquent, if I'm not getting any, then you sure as hell aren't getting any neither! Now get off the cute blonde boy and stop getting his junk all excited for nothing!" Taka-chan yelled using his masculine voice, making the "cute blonde boy" squirm underneath me uncomfortably.

I said nothing, choosing to follow the man's instructions now since it was probable that Shizuo would have stopped me before anything serious happened…again.

"See ya tomorrow, Shizuo," I said half-heartedly as he brushed past me to the hole in the roof, squatting down to sit at the edge before dropping down to land on the ruined couch I had used as a step ladder, a small wave thrown in my direction before he disappeared all together.

"So…Taka-chan…what the hell?" I asked him after a few minutes just to make sure Shizuo was no longer underneath us and within hearing range.

"Don't "what the hell" me; I should "what the hell" you! What are you doing talking to my boyfriend about your non-existence sex life?! Because of you I haven't had sex in three_ weeks!_" he yelled at me, brandishing the bat as if to make an exclamation point.

I grabbed the bat out of his hand and pointed it at him. "Don't blame me for your lack of sex! It was clearly Naoki-san's decision to put you on a leash and restrain you from going after his bits and pieces all the times," I told him angrily, upset that he was trying to put the blame on me.

"You have no idea what I am going through! No idea! And do you know why? No! Because you haven't had sex in nine months! So you two can't possibly know what I am going through!"

"Well, seeing as how I haven't had sex in nine months…" I said trailing off and making a face so he could see my clearly better point. I placed my free hand on my hip and watched as he crossed his arms across his chest and cocked his jaw, regarding me in a way that suggested he was thinking of how to counter it.

"From what I just witnessed, it seems like you're itching for it, too. Eh? Amai-chan?" Taka-chan said, grinning smugly when I glared in turn, upper lip curling back in hatred that it had been so obvious.

"Let's just say I've hit a place in my life where no one's hitting my places. And it's not like I haven't been trying. You, the world and Shizuo keep cock-blocking me," I said trying to explain my current situation.

"Shizuo? He's a hormonal, young adult male. He should be begging for it by now!" Taka-chan explained, incredulous, his anger deflating like a popped balloon and instead being inflated by this piece of juicy information.

"…It's not for lack of trying. I mean…we've done other—wait a minute! Why am I telling you? You keep freaking out over three weeks of cuddle-free shut eye without even the promise of seeing stars!"

"I'm the closest thing you have to a girlfriend. Now go on, tell me what happened between you two," he said, completely engrossed, sitting on top of the crate like a dog waiting for food.

"Oh…right," I said dejectedly, wishing more than ever that I could have the awkward conversations I used to have with Hikaru back in high school. "Then I'll save myself the long explanation and show you what happened a few days ago," I said, un-tucking my button-up and pulling it up to show him my left side, more specifically, my back.

"Oh my God. _That_ was a few days ago?!" he asked me, reaching out to tentatively touch one of the four bluish circles positioned in a kind of crescent moon. "Why aren't they fading?"

"They are too. They used to be purple," I said indignantly, pulling my shirt back down to shield myself from the cold air, and also because a light went on in the un-abandoned building next to us and I didn't want some pervert seeing my bra. Which reminds me…

"It's not like he did it on purpose. You should have seen his face when I opened my big, fat mouth and said "ow". It was like he accidently stepped on a puppy: so friggin' mad at himself and ashamed to the point of yelling at me to go home. Kinda pissed me off since I was close to getting his shirt off," I explained, reaching one hand inside my shirt and drawing out the cigarette tucked inside my bra, flicking it away in mild disgust. It's not like my adversity to it mattered any more since they won.

"Trying to make up for it with that little display earlier?" he asked, giving me an amused smirk while he swiped a beer and cracked the tab, gulping down well over half the liquid inside like the man he was half the time…sometimes.

"…No. If I did that for that kind of reason, I wouldn't be any better than a horny teenager," I rebutted, snapping open another beer. "Now that I think about it, I shouldn't be drinking right now. My dad says the only reason people should drink is for celebration."

"When was your last drink?"

"About …three weeks ago tomorrow. Why?"

"Then congratulations on three weeks of sobriety!" he said excitedly, touching his beer to mine in a sort of mock toast.

"Admit it, you just don't want to drink alone," I said, drinking despite that I caught him.

"Hmph, yeah. So what was the reason you started dry humping Heiwajima-kun? Even though my favorite reason so far is that you were horny," he said, smiling away like a bastard when I glared at him over the rim of my can.

"I'd rather keep the reason of my…"affection" to myself. Nosy Bastard," I muttered to myself, taking a sip of beer before unceremoniously pouring the rest over the side of the building.

"What? Did something bad happen?" he asked me, laughing slightly before stopping all together, his constant smile falling away when he saw my withdrawn face. "Amai…what happened?" he asked softly, setting his half-empty beer can beside him on the ground and putting his hands on my shoulder, looking at me with mixed concern.

I bit my lip, neither hard nor soft, and thought back to last week when I had first received the news. For Taka-chan's sake, it was better if I didn't bring it up since it could go in one of two ways: flipping out and taking out all of my frustrations, or breaking down and letting him see my humane side. Ideally I'd rather flip my shit and throw things at walls again, but when I did that last week, I had to have Colm and Kichiro bail me out of a twenty-four lock-up. Deciding neither option was an option, I started out with something true and simple.

"You know Shizuo makes me happy, right? Taka-chan?" I said, looking at the brick wall of the abandoned building. He seemed to be confused, voicing this with a single word and prompting me to continue my odd train of thought. "I brought him up here because I thought he needed to blow some steam after the day he's had…but…that was just one of the reasons. A few days ago too I used his suckish day to my advantage 'cause I wanted to feel better. It's not fair to him, ya know? Using him for sex to make myself better…he's not the type of guy to go for it just to go for it."

"Amai, honey, I don't understand what you're talking about," Taka-chan said, visibly confused and probably wondering if I was losing my mind.

"When I got the news, I didn't cry or anything, I just started beating this guy up because he asked me what my fucking problem was. Lucky for me he was from one of those color gangs, or I might've been sued for assault. When my brothers came to the police station to bail me out of a twenty-four hour hold, I told them why I freaked out and it kind of made me jealous how well they handled it. Even Colm handled it better! He has such a weak personality, I thought for sure he'd burst out crying right there. For all I know he probably did that latter."

"Amai…it sounds like someone…" he didn't finish his sentence; he just tightened his grip on my shoulders when they started shaking of their own accord. I nodded, confirming something we both knew, even if he didn't know who it was.

"I'm leaving in a couple days to help with preparations. I don't know how long I'll be gone though, so feel free to take advantage of my absence," I said, removing his hands from my shoulders and bending down to retrieve the remaining three beers. I pushed them into his hands and gave him a wink, hoping he'd understand what I meant.

"Sure but, Amai? What about Heiwajima-kun? Does he know you're leaving?" he asked me as I brushed back him to the hole, crouching down to sit on the edge before turning my gaze back to him.

"Can you do me a favor and not tell Shizuo about all this? I've been dealing with a lot of pity at work since Miss Yuumi's daughter Kyoko found out and started being nice to me. I don't want to have to deal with that from my boyfriend, too. I'd rather have him be pissed as hell that I left without telling him," I told him before dropping out of sight, landing on my old, ruined couch awkwardly, cursing the day I ever bought it from the previous owners.

"What should I tell Heiwajima-kun if he comes here asking where you are?" came Taka-chan's voice from up above me. I looked up above me and saw Taka-chan's head peeking over the edge of the jagged hole.

"Just tell him that I'm going to see my mom one last time." It wasn't a lie, but it was still a little ways from the truth. I _would_ be seeing my mom, but I just left out the fact that she would be a corpse when I see her.


	38. Chapter 38:Back Again

**[Shizuo, due to unforeseen circumstances, I am to return home to Hokkaido tonight. Please forgive me for not telling you in person.]**

Deleted.

**[I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this in person, but I am leaving for Hokkaido. I don't know when I will be back, but I hope to keep in touch with you.]**

Deleted.

**[Shizuo, I am actually a spy for the government. Due to a top secret mission, I have been called to Hokkaido for a variable number of weeks. I do not know if we will meet again, but I'd like you to know that the nights we spent together were my absolute favorite. Forever yours, Secret Agent Amai.]**

'_This one's funny, but I think he'd kick my ass faster to Hokkaido than this train could if I sent that,'_ I thought, my overall attitude sour as I tried to think of something to say to Shizuo via text message. Although in retrospect, anything I sent in text message form would piss him off to no end if I didn't say it in person. Snapping the phone shut, I dropped my hand to my lap and turned my head to stare blankly out the window, the roving hill sides making me nauseous. On my right Colm slept soundly, snoring lightly every few minutes. Across the seat from me, Kichiro copied my posture, his own eyes turned on the horizon, but his fingers keeping themselves busy as they absentmindedly picked and pulled at a think banded collar with a little box attached on one side of it. When I asked him about it prior to boarding the train he said he didn't want to talk about it.

"Hey Kichiro, can you help me out with something?" I asked him, deciding that now was as good a time as any to both solve my communication problem and figure out what the deal was with the collar.

"Déjà vu moment. What? Did you beat up someone else when you went to the bathroom ten minutes ago?" he asked, unusually grouchy for this time of day.

"Screw you dumbass, I just wanted to know what you said to Misa-chan before we left. I can't figure out what to say to Shizuo," I told him, sneering a bit at his attitude towards my minor meltdown last week. It's not like he's the one doing community service anyway.

"Well, my only advice is to not say anything that would make him put a shock collar around your neck and give the remote to your sadistic brother who'll shock you just because it's funny and because he wants revenge for lighting his socks on fire."

"To be fair, you lit them on fire while he was wearing them. Also, if you get shocked while you're with Colm and he doesn't have the remote, that'll be me getting more revenge for that time you slept with my ex-friend," I said, holding up the little black box and teasingly hovering my thumb over the red button, watching his face shift repeatedly between excessive rage and uneasiness.

"You're a bitch, ya know that?"

"Everyone in two cities knows that."

"Yeah, but they don't know you like I do."

"True enough. So, are ya gonna help me out or not?" I asked him, growing annoyed that he was stalling his answer.

He looked away from me, up towards the ceiling, over at the window, down at the center aisle. Really he was just pretending to think about it to just piss me off some more. Making a small impatient noise, he finally consented to helping me out, only to demand my phone and after pressing a few buttons he tossed it back to me, a big, self-satisfied smile on his face. Suspicious, I flipped open my phone and looked through the messages—sent or received—and found nothing changed. Glancing up at him, I silently wondered what he did, but after looking through the rest of my phone, I put off my questions for later when I would have more room to wail on him if he did something.

Looking back to my left, I watched the last stop slide into view and, after nudging Colm awake, prepared for the second to last leg of the journey.

_DRRR!_

"It feels like we just did this last week, doesn't it?" Kichiro surmised; his arms folded behind his head as he leaned his back against the side of the truck. Currently we were inside the old pick-up truck, the only other vehicle available for transportation since Kichiro—according to Carney's words—maliciously destroyed the other one.

"How would you know? You and Colm were sleeping the last time we came up here," I replied, kicking his leg away from me when it invaded my side of the flatbed. He kicked my leg in retaliation and continued on like nothing happened.

"D'you think Uncle Kashi is coming?" he asked, tapping the open window of the truck's cab where Kazuhiro and Colm sat. I didn't dare question why Hiro-chan was the one to greet us at the docks since it was obvious Carney would have killed Kichiro the nanosecond he saw him. I'm actually surprised Carney didn't even attempt to come down to Ikebukuro and drop kick his ass into traffic. I guess there's a reason why his girl friend is named Setsuko. Although a pissed off Carney is more trouble than the poor girl could handle, even if she was the most patient girl on the planet.

"Doubt it. Guy burns down an abandoned warehouse for cheap thrills and ends up with twelve years in the slammer. Still got four years left and variable amount of time for psychological help," Kazuhiro stated from the drivers' seat.

My brother. The ever gloomy person you can't help but love.

"Yeah, but Mom was his sister. They can't let him out for a few hours to go to her funeral?" Colm asked his displeasure evident on his face.

"They let him out for parole last year and look at how _that _went. If he can't last a week, then a few hours shouldn't be any different," I said, looking behind me at the passing buildings and the vaguely familiar people I grew up with.

"Yeah, but still," Kichiro said trying to keep the conversation going. There wasn't really a point though. When it came to Uncle Kashi the family was split in two: those who loved him no matter what, and those who judged him by his poor choices. I myself danced along the line.

"Arson's like an illness. It tends to spread and get out of control," Kazuhiro stated, glancing back at him for a second before returning his eyes to the road.

"Either way, Dad won't be happy. On the one hand, he should be there, but on the other…they'll most likely exchange verbal insults and then duke it out on the front lawn again," Colm said stating his thoughts on the opposing teams outlook of Uncle Kashi visiting the farm for a couple hours. Or rather, paraphrasing what happened about ten years ago during Sora's fifth birthday party.

"What say you, Amai?" Kichiro asked me, turning his attention back to me.

"What say me what?" I asked him, turning my own attention away from some punk kids pulling faces at me.

"You studied psychology online right? You're the only one here qualified to give a statement on Uncle Kashi's mental state of mind," Kazuhiro stated looking away from the red light we were stopped at.

"Well, in my semi-professional opinion…I find that it wouldn't be the best of situations for someone prone to arson to come to an area of flammable objects strewn around every which way, especially in such a vulnerable state," I said, calling upon every ounce of professionalism I had to offer for this evaluation of my uncle's psychotic mind.

"Then that settles it. If Amai's opinion means less than half of a real psychiatrists', then he's not coming."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"And yet no one cares."

"Are we at Sora's school yet? I don't know when this started, but this conversation has turned into a "bash Amai"-fest," I said aggravated.

"Just let it go, Amai. Kazuhiro's just venting his frustration. His choice of words could use some control though," Kichiro said looking thoughtfully at the back of Kazuhiro's dyed head.

"Bite me, Horn-dog."

"Hey! I'm just trying to justify you're actions, and then you turn on me?! What the hell is wrong with you?"

I don't know if it is possible, but the mental snap of Kazuhiro's mind seemed almost physical, and it seemed to take the form of squealing tires as he stomped down hard on the breaks, causing several cars behind us to swerve and narrowly miss our rusted red car's ass. They drove past us, shouting verbal insults and threats at us, but we neither concerned ourselves with their words, nor acknowledge them as we focused our attention on our bent-over-the-wheel brother as he silently fumed, knuckles white as he gripped the wheel.

Kichiro peeled himself from the cab's window, the force of the break having crushed him—and me—against it. "Give a guy a warning next time. Colm almost went through the windshield! The hells the matter with you?!" he shouted angrily, poking his head through the window to question him directly.

"I'm the one who's acting wrong. I'm the one who's got a problem. _What about you three?! What the hell is the matter with you bastards?!_ From the minute I pick you up, you say nothing but this crap. Not a word about Mom or _anything else!_ You think that's okay? You think you can just ignore it and it'll go away? That she'll come back and everything goes back to normal? _Wake up!_ This is reality. So acknowledge it."

I'd never known Kazuhiro to be verbally passionate about anything. Rants alone were rare and few in between when he was mad about something, or when he worked up the emotion to actually be mad about anything. On his darkest day when Mamimi managed to annoy him with her endless amounts of cheerfulness, he'd just plain tell her to shut up and that was it. Of course, when he did that he'd wind up on a short leash, and jumping through hoops to get her through the gloomy mood he'd put her in. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice to any of us in his eighteen years of life.

He went silent after his small rant, turning his head back towards the windshield and leaning his forehead on the edge of the steering wheel. "I just want her to come back," he whispered, so soft and weak and full of sorrow that it just damn near broke my heart with the sheer sound of it.

I stood up from my seat in the flatbed and sat down on the edge of the side of the truck. Kichiro looked at me but said nothing, instead looking back at Kazuhiro as he breathed in deeply, like he was trying not to cry.

I've only seen Patrick cry at the birth of our brothers, the birth of his son, his wedding, even his engagement.

I've only known Kichiro and Colm to cry when it either suited them or the situation.

I've seen Sora cry a lot, but only when he was being teased mercilessly by us about his addiction to the winged vermin.

I have never seen Carney or Kazuhiro cry, either in front of us or out of sight; the only exception being when they were babies and cried at everything.

I'm not going to let a bunch of strangers on the street see my brother in this vulnerable state.

"Move over, Hiro-chan," I said, dropping down to the pavement and opening the door. He gradually let go of the steering wheel and slid closer to Colm, all the while keeping his head down and his hands clenched in his lap.

"Listen closely, Hiro-chan. Don't tell us we don't care, and we don't grieve and any of that crap. We just do it in our own way. You lash out at the people who love you. I beat up random gang members and get into a twenty-four hour holding cell. Last week Colm and Kichiro choked during the Bar Exam. Broke down before the halfway point and had to be escorted from the building," I told him, sliding in next to him and slamming the door. The window rattling as I looked out the window shield with a cold glare at the pedestrians and drivers looking and talking pointedly at the truck parked in the middle of the street hindering traffic.

Glancing away from the intrusive people I looked towards my younger brother, who had the heel of his hand pressed against his eyes in an effort to keep from crying. One hand on the wheel, I reached beside me and touched the top of his ear, earning a questioning glance from Kazuhiro before it morphed into something like anger when I roughly grabbed it and twisted it forward, earning a growled insult and the biting of his short, blunt nails into my wrist when he wrenched my hand away.

"I can forgive you calling us unfeeling bastards and that colorful word you called me just now, but don't forget Mom's number one rule: no weak emotions in front of the enemy," I told him, gesturing to the crowd of people on the sidewalks and the line of cars behind us incessantly honking their horns. Underneath the noise I heard the distinct sound of a patrol car, and through the mirror I saw the car coming up behind us. In no more than a few seconds he'd be right next to us, so now would be the time to wrap this up.

"Understand Kazuhiro? Save the water works for home or, if you prefer it, the loving bosom of Mamimi-chan." he nodded his understanding, all the while rubbing his sore ear and eyes to get rid of any evidence of his slip up. Beside me the blaring horn cut off and the door slammed shut as the officer walked to the driver of the car, i.e. me.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" I drawled as the officer came close to the car. An officer otherwise known as Ito Yuki.

"Good question. Mind telling us why you're stopped in the middle of the road? Or if you plan on being there much longer?" he asked me crossing his lanky arms across his chest while he smirked up at me like a giddy child who knew the punch line to a good joke.

"Family…issues—who's "us"?" I asked him genuinely confused since as far as I knew his partner had quit months earlier, some kind of PTSD or some such.

The "us" would be me and Hikaru." At the sound of her name she leaned out of the left side of the vehicle next to us and waved enthusiastically. Needless to say the three hormonal men—and I use the term loosely—had their eyes pinned to a place a little more south of her waving hand, her slipping glasses, even her happier-than-happy smile. Behind me I heard a yelp and what sounded slightly like buzzing electricity. I could only assume that Colm either had little to no interest in Hikaru's "generous endowment", or he didn't have a clear view. "She came with me on a ride along. Not to mention this is my way of making it up to her for missing our six year anniversary," he said looking sheepish.

"Seems pretty boring. Couldn't have thought of anything more fun or sexy?" Kichiro said, making a lot of noise as he slowly clambered back up into a sitting position, only to be sent back down when Colm zapped him again.

"Why does your brother…have a shock collar…" he didn't finish his sentence, or rather, he couldn't since the situation was too odd to even make a proper sentence.

"It's too sad to tell you, but I will say that his girlfriend has him by the—" of course before I could finish my sentence the chief of police in this here city called in, drawing everyone in our little bubble of inter relationship space to the police monitor in the car. Hikaru sat back down and picked up the receiver, imitating Yuki's voice so perfectly it could have fooled even me—someone's who's known him since the second grade of elementary school. Of course, the officer on the other end of the line was no ordinary person, and besides his father, she was only one who could tell a fake from the original. I'm even embarrassed to say to myself—and myself only—that she scared the shit outta me.

"_Get off the line, Hikaru, and put my son on,"_ she said in that cold voice of hers that made me inwardly grimace at the sheer sound of it.

'_Like Izaya's knife at my throat, but less creepy,'_ I thought, listening in on their brief conversation along with my two older and one younger brother.

"_Listen closely, Kid. We've got a hoodlum acting up like a teenage girl during her time of the month, and he's over running our officers like they're__ paper dolls. We need you down on Twelfth Street ASAP as backup until we get some tranquilizers on hand."_

"Isn't there like a code for this? I feel like there's a code," Yuki said, either stalling because he didn't want his girlfriend in harm's way or because someone who needed tranquilizer bullets seemed like someone he didn't want to encounter.

"_Shut up and get your ass down here now! This guy is as crazy as bat shit, and you have my tranquilizer gun."_

Oh right, her gun. How many times have I been shot by _that_ thing?

"Got it, got it. What corner street is he on?"

"_Trust me, Kid. You'll know the street when you get down her—HEY! Stand down! You're only making it worse for yourself, Hoodlum!"_ In the background we heard something akin to shouting police officers and what might have been the hoodlum yelling before the receiver cut off. To anyone else, this would mean trouble, but to Yuki it was just his mother raising hell against a two-bit thug in a not-so-small, yet not-too-large town. Although, for him to need tranquilizers…must be having a steroid induced meltdown. If I was in the laughing mood I might have made a joke about this theory. Something that might've went along the lines of having no balls. Too bad I was still in a bad mood.

"Tch, she should have just taken the damn car. Not like her to leave her gun though," Yuki muttered to himself, reaching past Hikaru to her seat belt, unclipping it and opening the door for her. "Can you stay with Amai, Hikaru? You might get hurt."

"And by that you mean…" I added just to see Yuki squirm.

"Exactly what I mean, Amai," Yuki said rather tersely, glaring at me slightly, unknowing that Hikaru was sticking her tongue out at him with a sour expression, and crossing her arms defensively in front of her breasts, like she was trying to protect them from ridicule.

"Fine, fine. We'll take Hikaru home with us after we pick up some high school students," Kazuhiro said, leaning across me to talk out the window. "Get in the back with me and Amai, Big Breast-san."

"Of course, Gloomy Prince-sama," Hikaru said mockingly, giving a little curtsy in her jean shorts.

Yuki gave us a look, like he was skeptical of our willingness to take his girlfriend off his hands for a few hours. He was right to be of course, after all, he had known us for seventeen years.

_DRRR!_

"This isn't the road to the road to your house," Hikaru said leaning over the top of the cab, hand over her eyes to shield her from the sunlight overhead, fluffy hair blown back by the wind.

"Didn't take you long to figure that one out," Kazuhiro said sarcastically, his long form laid out along the flatbed, his black eyes squinted shut against the intrusive sunlight.

"She might be gone, but we're still her kids. Not to mention her inquisitive bone got passed down to all of us," Colm shouted back over the roar of the music playing over the radio.

"Like we're gonna pass up seeing someone who needs tranquilizers in him? Pfft, we might be law students, but we gotta let the cat out sometime. Curious is we," added Kichiro laughingly, turning the car down another side street.

I think I've known Hikaru for close to twenty years, yet it still amazed me that she didn't see things like this coming from us—me most of all.

"Good point, turn up ahead, I think I hear screams and whatnot," Hikaru said, pointing towards the left, even though the driver couldn't see her. Despite the loud music and inability to see her pointed finger, Kichiro turned left at the next block, onto a street filled with chaos incarnate.

I didn't think it would happen. Some part of me always believed there was a line, as insane as that sounds. Maybe I thought it was more a matter of distance, because surely that wasn't him in the middle of a ring of police officers. And that couldn't possibly be his friend sitting on top of a car smiling delightedly at the madness around him like a child watching a cartoon. And, as neurotic as it sounds, it couldn't possibly be because of me, could it? To the girlish part of me, it made me blush at the mere thought, to the more dominant, take-no-shit, bitchy side of me…the chaos was about to get a little more chaotic.

Of course, nothing was set in stone. I'm sure if I played this out correctly I could get him to calm down and I could find out what exactly he was doing here. The police would settle down and stop aiming whatever weapon they had available at him, and we could go pick up Sora and the girls together. Simple, elegant, sane.

Too bad I was never one to follow plans through.

'_Simple, elegant, sane. Simple, elegant, sane.'_ This was what went through my head over and over and over as I jumped out of the back of the parked truck, pinching my earlobe to temporarily gain composure before walking towards the mess he had somehow gotten himself into.

I think there were a few hundred things I could have said after I'd weaved my way, however forcefully, through the policeman stronghold. Things regular people said to their somewhat strange significant other. Things like… "Calm down" or "Put the stop sign down". I wasn't quite sure if the thing I said qualified as such. But, you know, there's a first time for everything in this new modern era of rudeness and/or non-subtlety.

"_Shizuo, you giant blonde jackass! What the HELL are you doing here?!"_


	39. Chapter 39: No Rest for the Wicked

**It's Pi day! And not to mention that to those of us Otakus, it is also White Day. Enjoy~**

"Shizuo, what the hell are you doing here?!" I asked him, my jaw clenched in anger as I worked to relax my hand enough to remove my nails from my palms.

He looked away from the ground, his breathing heavy and labored like he was trying to control his anger enough to stop his body's movement. Like any other time I had seen him in his full on rage mode, his eyes were piercing and full of irritation, and his body was tense. When he spoke, his words were pressured and, like the anger that seemed to roll off of him in waves, they were directed at me. Yet despite all this I still walked forward, stopping before him, close enough that I could have reached out and touched him, but enough away that should shit start to hit the fan I could hopefully avoid it. 'It' being the stop sign he clutched in his hand.

"I should be asking you that. _Why the hell are you here, Amai?!"_ he asked, voice tight, the stop sign in his hand bending further into a right angle within his grasp.

I scoffed at the question. "I think my question should be answered first since _my _surprise is _clearly_ more logical," I said placing my hand on my hip, a fraction of my anger dissipating at the absurdity that my presence here was more of an abnormality than his. He snapped, his right arm shooting out at me and grabbing the collar of my shirt, lifting me up high up in the air—not unlike the second time he and his partner had rudely barged into my home. The sudden movement brought with it the multiple clicks of guns as they were taken off safety and ready to shoot on the command of their captain. Yet this warning fell on deaf ears as Shizuo pointedly ignored it in favor of trying to get an answer out of me.

"Hey _look!_ I'm only here because you're here. So why don't you just tell me _why the hell you're here?!_" he asked me, teeth bared like a wild animal, jaw tense, body shaking with hard-to-control anger. He was anger personified when he was like this, and ordinarily I would be torn between either loving it or hating the fact that he was once again man-handling me. Yet neither emotion came to mind. He didn't know. He didn't know that I was here because of my mother, and even if it meant I was selfish or stupid, I'd like to keep it that way for awhile. I don't like pity; whether it was given or received I didn't like it. So if I told Shizuo that my Mom died, then there was a good chance that he would join anyone else that had the audacity to pity me and my family. So however pointless or annoying it was, I was sticking to my guns.

"Not unless you tell me first." He growled at me, but before he could say anything, a naïve idiot in the police ring stepped inwards, inching towards us with his gun lowered to the ground.

"Amai, you know this psycho?" Yuki asked me in a hushed tone, looking warily at Shizuo and flinching slightly when his throat let out a guttural sound. Much like a wolf giving a warning to an approaching potential threat. Or maybe it was a sound that was letting us know of his displeasure at being called a "psycho".

"I should. He threw a person through my work place's window, broke my door twice, and frequently pisses me off on an almost daily basis," I answered. He glared down at me, as I smirked down at him—a disarming smile painted on my lips causing his eyebrows to scrunch together and his eyes to narrow in confusion—which was understandable since just seconds before I was pissed at him. "He's also my sweet, lovable boyfriend." I unlatched my hand from his wrist, reaching down to pinch his earlobe tightly, making his body loosen up and causing him to drop the sign with a heavy clang on the asphalt floor. His eyes were still tight, but that might've been because he was expecting this. Nevertheless they had a softer edge to them than they did before as he slowly lowered me to the ground. His eyes left mine when my feet touched the ground and looked down and away, something akin to a mix of shame clear in his features—as if he were child about to get scolded.

"Sweet? You're joking right? This freak just ripped a stop sign out of concrete and used it to swat away three people!" another police officer said, this one I vaguely remembered from high school –a member of the biased student council out to get all my fellow delinquents.

"The term 'sweet' varies from person to person, Ass Hat," I snapped at him, raising my arm and displaying my fist as a threat. Beside me Shizuo glanced over at the annoying man with less-than-mild interest in what he was saying—I was fairly sure it wasn't because of my calming technique.

"Okay, umm, Amai, let's all just calm down," Yuki said, replacing his gun in his holster and stepping forward to stand beside me, dropping a heavy hand on my shoulder before leaning in to murmur in my ear. "You're being oddly patient for someone who just called their supposed 'boyfriend' a 'giant, blond jackass'."

"Don't sound so impressed, I'm just making sure he doesn't get shot because of me," I murmured back, glaring out of the corner of my eye at Shizuo.

"Actually, Chief shot him with a few darts a couple minutes ago. But either they have a low potency or they take awhile to take effect," Yuki clarified, looking down pointedly at Shizuo's right leg. I looked to find two small red darts embedded high up in his right thigh and grimaced.

"How the hell did my technique work when the drugs didn't?" I asked aloud, not totally expecting an answer until his voice rand out in a happy-to-help tone.

"I think I can answer that, Amai-chan!" Shinra called, waving a hand high over his head as he sat cross-legged on top of a car, my kitten for some reason curled up in his other hand, looking like a handful of blonde fluff.

"Wouldn't it be obvious that his sexy body burned off the tranquilizer faster than it could spread through his blood stream?" Hikaru asked him, leaning one hip against the vehicle while she ran one hand through her electro-shocked hair, an appreciative smile edging her face as she looked over the tall blond behind me, further irritating me. It wasn't that I didn't realize that Shizuo was a very attractive individual; it just pissed me off to no end that the people around me made that fact obvious by their constant flirtation. People including, but not limited to, Taka-chan and Hikaru.

"Putting the personal comments aside, that might be why your technique worked since it deals more with nerve endings connected to the brain or more likely the part of the brain that controls emotions," Yuki said, putting a hand up to his small goatee and scratching it thoughtfully as he regarded Shizuo, most likely trying to ignore the fact that his girlfriend had called Shizuo sexy.

It was a weird conversation, but then again, we three were never ones for normalcy when it came to the universe and her bitchy rules of nature. Of course, since it was in the worst type of situation, this type of conversation didn't bode well with the Chief as she called, or more so shouted, from the sidelines, her tranquilizer gun lying abandoned on the asphalt and her face red from anger.

"_All officers stand down! Stand by for further instruction! Yuki! Get yer ass over here!"_ she shouted, her red face deepening in color at the sheer velocity in which she spoke.

I never liked Yuki's mom. She was pushy, yelled a lot, and to be fair, she didn't like me either. Whether it was because I was a delinquent or because I had previously dated her oldest son, I didn't know. On some level though I respected her as a courageous person since there weren't many women in her line of work, along with the fact that she was one of the few adults that didn't overtly hate my mom since they had both a mutual understanding and level of respect for each other. Whether the scale would tip or not depended on the amount given and received.

The interior matched the exterior as well. Tightly pulled back gray-brown hair in a neat bun at the nape of her neck, thinly applied makeup to show her feminine side—however small—and a physically fit body that showed little to no womanly curves in her iron pressed uniform. At the age of fifty-three she was still at the peak of her physical self. But that thought only made it scarier to imagine when she would finally retire.

Yuki, like the obedient boy he was, retreated to his mother's side while the police ring all but dissipated from around us, choosing to retreat to the sidewalks to divert on looking pedestrians and traffic. Few remained in the destroyed formation, most likely keeping an eye on Shizuo and a hand on their holsters in case he snapped again. I couldn't blame them of course since his fuse is as small as the head of a pin. My only hopes being that my technique lasted the allotted time of ten minutes, and that we would be able to escape this mess without legal trouble…and bail.

"Shizuo, come with me for a sec," I said, turning away from the smiling brunette currently in conversation with Hikaru about God knows what, a less-than-happy Yuki being berated by his more-than-pissed mother, and the blonde man behind me. I didn't need eyes on the back of my head to know that he was glaring at me, but nevertheless he followed me anyway.

"Amai."

"If you're wondering where we're going, it's back to my car so I can talk to my brothers about your situation," I said, stopping beside the car Hikaru and Shinra were on, taking hold of their arms and dragging them from the hood to the ground, earning a pout from Hikaru and an amused smile from Shinra. His smile soon turned into a grimace when I punched his arm and took my cat from his hands.

"Amai."

"If you're wondering if I'm going to ask you why you're here, you're right. Only this time I'm actually going to get an answer from you," I said, refusing to look back at him while I pulled Shinra along beside me by the sleeve of his lab coat, walking back to my family's abused car.

"Amai," he said once again, this time grabbing hold of my upper arm and making me stop. I turned my head and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow in curiosity since as far as I knew whatever questions he had for me should've been covered by what I said earlier. "You…called me your boyfriend before."

"…um…yeah. What about it?" I asked. Even to me my voice sounded cold, yet my face felt warm, and I bet it looked warm too since I could see Shinra smiling like a moron out of the corner of my eye.

"You've never called me that before." Oh great, now he was fixated on it.

"Yeah, well…I can't let people here refer to you as 'That Giant, Blonde Jackass' now can I? Although, I don't know what kind of rep you'll get here as "Tomboy Tachibana's boyfriend"," I said, turning my face away from him before continuing back to my curious brothers, pausing slightly in my step when I felt a large, calloused hand wrap around my smaller one.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, my hands fidgeting in the somewhat foreign feeling.

"What? I can't hold your hand?" he asked gruffly, his hand tightening ever so slightly in an attempt to stop mine from moving so much.

"Well yeah, but…you never did that back in 'bukuro," I said, blushing uncontrollably when my hand started to feel sweaty, but at least it made it easy for me to slip out of his hand.

"You never called me your boyfriend back in 'bukuro," he said, taking my hand again after I had wiped my palm off on my pant leg.

"Pfft, so what? It had to be official?" I laughed, moving my hand more comfortably in his, interlocking our fingers until they fit together better. He didn't say anything, he just kinda looked away from me, but in the corner of my eye I saw him smile a bit.

_DRRR!_

"There's at least fifteen people here who just witnessed him assault three pedestrians and evade arrest!"

"Well, no matter the witnesses—"

"And no matter the evidence—"

"It's physically impossible, right?" my brothers said together, smiling their "you have no choice but to give in to our demands" grins. The only times I've known Colm to look that evil was when he and Kichiro had driven their prey into a corner like a cat and a mouse. Chief knew that they had her trapped because even with her own eyes, I bet she didn't believe that Shizuo had actually ripped a sign post out of concrete and had proceeded to swat away three people no more than seven blocks away. When I asked him why he just said they were bugging him. And when my brothers asked me what he said, I told them it wouldn't help his case.

"Your brothers are going to get Heiwajima-san off right?" Yuki asked, nervously looking through the dessert shop window at his mother and my brothers "talking" on the street, bits and pieces of their conversation floating in through the gaps of other people's conversations.

"'Course they will. They wouldn't be number one in their class if they were dumbasses who couldn't sweet talk their way through any conversation," I stated, feeling nostalgic as I watched Yuki do the one thing he always did when he was nervous: eat cherries and tie the cherry stems in a knot in his mouth. It was understandable why he was nervous of course, seeing as how he had to babysit the guy who had, in his words, "flipped his shit and started freaking out", the reason for which was still unclear. I wouldn't even blame him if the reason for his slight shake was because of what his mother said before, something along the lines of "Because it was _your_ idea to say 'hi' to Tachibana in primary school. Because it was _your_ idea to wait him out so Tachibana could come and placate him. And because Tachibana is _your_ friend and _he_ is _her_ boyfriend and if you don't,_ I'll have your badge faster than you can say_ _"Yes Ma'am"!_" Currently I had no idea who to feel more sorry for: Shizuo, since he was being treated like a misbehaving child, or Yuki, who had to follow him around like a dog for however long he was here.

"When you mean "get him off" is that in the legal way or the fun way?" Hikaru asked him, laying her head in hands while she lazily laid her elbows on the table, her Banana Sundae directly under her chin.

"If they want to live to see another lay, it better be the legal way," I said, unwittingly rhyming in boredom as I stared in hatred at everyone's desserts. Even Shinra's granola covered monstrosity of a dessert looked more delicious than what was in front of me: a chipped green, wooden table that I was more than sure had gum stuck to the underside. So far the only up side to this whole endeavor was that Shizuo let me have a couple bites of his Hot Fudge Sundae—hopefully he won't find out when he comes back from his hearing/smoking break.

"Is Colm-kun seeing someone now?" Hikaru asked, stabbing at her sundae with a pink plastic spoon, smashing the banana into a thick yellow mess amid the whipped cream and strawberry ice cream.

"Has been since January, but they only started doing the "Horizontal Mambo" this month," Kazuhiro answered, scoffing a bit around his straw while he periodically looked at the clock on the mint-green wall of the dessert shop.

""Only" he says, yet the farthest he's gone with his girlfriend is second base, and _they've_ been dating for two years," I snickered, reaching across the table to snatch the spoon from Shizuo's dessert.

"Yeah, like your relationship with tall, blonde and angry out there has even started running bases yet," Kazuhiro rebutted, glaring at me from under the cover of his fringe while he chewed on the straw to his malt.

"Oh please, my relationship with "tall, blonde, and angry" is more complicated than yours is with Ms. Peppy," I said annoyed, sticking the spoon in my mouth and taking partial delight in the chocolaty flavor.

"With how much you fought as individuals, it's a wonder how you two get along as a couple," Shinra said, putting in his two cents. "What _is_ your relationship like anyway?"

"I don't need to answer the question of someone who's only reason for being here is to see how Shizuo reacts in a new environment," I shot at him, taking the spoon out of my mouth and sticking it back on top of the pile of ice cream currently melting in the absence of Shizuo. Glancing outside I saw Chief's face tone down a few degrees from its strangled-red color, and Shizuo snuff out his cigarette in a small paper packet before turning his head to look inside. From inside his vest I saw my cat fidget, his front paws and head peeking out from the V-shaped crease on his chest.

"Well I'm curious. Is this the same City-Boy from way back when?" Hikaru asked me before spooning a giant glob of banana/strawberry ice cream into her mouth, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose—despite not needing them to see.

"Tch…well, we fought a lot as acquaintances, we fought some as friends. I see no reason for it to be any different if we're dating," I said honestly, reaching kitty-corner across from me to snatch a cherry from the bowl in front of Yuki.

"Che, yeah. Throw sex into that mess and you have one entertaining relationship," snickered Yuki, spitting out a cherry pit into an empty glass.

"Actually…we haven't yet," I said, grimacing at how the conversation had suddenly turned into this. And in front of my younger brother no less!

"Why not?"

'_Oh, right. He's the non-squeamish one,'_ I thought dejectedly.

"Well you know, we just started dating and everything's new, and—" I started, floundering with every word until Yuki stopped me.

"Dude's a virgin?"

"Total virgin," I sighed. My head made contact with the wood of the table—either from embarrassment of lack of sugary treat I wasn't exactly sure.

"Hmm. He's a good looking guy, how come he hasn't done 'It' yet?"

"He's sorta…self-conscious," I answered for lack of a better term.

"Actually—" Shinra started before I cut him off.

"Shut it, Shinra," I told him, knowing full well that there would be a long drawn-out, and boring, explanation of the wonder that is Shizuo's body.

"Of his body?" Kazuhiro asked, "Doesn't surprise me from what Sora said."

"In a way he is. Not to mention I'm his first in everything romantic," I said looking back at the window, "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't both fun and nerve-wracking since I might end up ruining it."

"Wouldn't doubt it," Kazuhiro and Yuki said, the former saying it outright while the latter muttered it. He should have shouted it because the muttering didn't stop me from kicking his shin.

"I don't have to sit here and take this shit," I said 'nudging' Shinra out of the booth with my shoe so I could slide out.

"Come on, Amai~ Stay longer, won't'cha?" Hikaru pouted, pulling on the back of my shirt in an attempt to keep me from leaving.

"NO! Nothing you or anyone else says will keep me from leaving!" I exclaimed trying to choose between either ripping my t-shirt or leaving here in my bra. Fortunately I didn't have to choose between public humiliation or a ruined shirt since the one thing that could've kept me there came at the right moment.

"Sorry for the wait! One strawberry-mango-blueberry Parfait for the lady in red!" the server exclaimed with somewhat fake cheerfulness as she set the—in my opinion—delicious dessert in front of me. The table went quiet as she left to tend to other customers, Hikaru's grip loosening until she was sure I wouldn't escape.

"…Alright. After I eat this…then I'll leave in a fit," I said, sliding back into my seat properly and picking up my spoon, happily spooning a blueberry and strawberry into my mouth.

"Careful you don't choke," Kazuhiro mumbled despite his smirking at me.

"Careful you don't piss me off," I rebutted scooping up another blueberry and catapulting it at him. Only to miss him completely and hit Shizuo instead. The people at our table went silent in quiet horror as they waited to see what he would do—excluding Hiro-chan of course in terms of being horror-stricken. The only two at our table that showed faces of glee were Shinra and I. Unlike Shinra however, I was seconds away from bursting out laughing when my kitten climbed up Shizuo's shirt and started licking the yogurt and blueberry juice off his cheek. "Sorry, I meant to hit someone, but that someone wasn't you," I explained, covering my mouth with my hand to hide the spreading smile.

He said nothing; he only grabbed the scruff on my cat's neck and pulled him the rest of the way out of his vest. "You left your cat back home," he said dropping him on the table in front of me.

"…I have multiple questions for why all…_three_ of you are here, but my main one is why _you_ are here," I said, picking up my honey colored kitten and placing him in my lap all the while he was hissing.

He still didn't say anything; he only waited while Kazuhiro stood up from the booth so he could sit down across from me. After the first few bites of his slightly runny ice cream he finally spoke, his words oddly measured like he was actually trying to make an attempt to keep calm. "You were acting all weird last week and then you up and vanished yesterday—"

"I didn't vanish! I was busy mentally preparing for all the crap I had to do this week," I quickly explained, absentmindedly brushing Shizu-chan's fur.

"Whatever. If you had to come up here, then why didn't you just tell me?" he said, his words gaining that special pressured tone he seemed to always possess.

"Well…I was going to," was my brilliant excuse.

"Going to?! Why didn't you tell me all that crap in that mail?!" he demanded, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Mail? What mail?" I asked him, genuinely confused about what the hell he was talking about.

Instead of explaining, he simply took out his phone and flipped it open, showing me the most recent message he had gotten: one from me, and it read as such:

**[Bye.]**

I was going to kill him. Not Shizuo of course since he was an innocent victim of phone fraud. No, I was going to kill my brother, reasons being that he's the reason why Shizuo was here at all.

"Move. Move, move, MOVE!" I yelled at Shinra, letting my cat hop from my lap to my shoulder as I stood up from the booth, moving quickly to the door and straight towards my brothers.

"—long is he staying here?" Chief Ito asked, arms folded and anger well in check.

"No more than a week at most probably—"

"Or however long Amai is here. Think of him as a guard dog with a habit of following a certain small, angry woman," Kichiro said, somehow irritating me even more than I was now simply by equating my boyfriend to a dog. "Oh! Speak of the devil. Amai, we just about got this wrapped up, but we need a time fram—OW! Bitch! What the hell?!" he exclaimed, trying to use Colm as a shield against my unrelenting fists.

"YOU! You bastard! You're the reason he's here!" I shouted, clawing blindly at him as I attempted to climb over Colm.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, grabbing at my hands to still them and keep them from clawing his eyes out.

"You took my phone and sent that message you womanizing bastard!"I yelled at him, wrenching my hands free from his grasp and climbing off of Colm to try and get at him from another angle.

"Actually, Amai, I'm the one who sent that mail," Colm said, holding his hands up in a placating manner. I stilled in light of this new information, taking in that for the first time in a long time, it was not my moronic older brother that basically sold me out, but the brother I had thought would never have the balls to screw me over this way.

"Wh-why the hell would you do that?!" I exclaimed while Shizu-chan hissed in my ear.

"W-well, you were m-miserable the entire ride up he-here, and I thought since Heiwajima-kun makes you s-so happy…that it'd be a good idea for him to b-be here," he stuttered, nervously playing with his fingers and not bearing to look me in the eye. I just glared at him, eyes narrowed and hands clenched so tightly that I was fairly sure that this time I would lose nail in my palm. Colm flinched as I raised my left hand, only to relax very slightly as I knocked on the glass and gestured inside for the others to come out.

"Shizuo, tell me, what was your game plan for this whole endeavor?" I asked him as they filed out, Yuki looking very sullen at the sight of his empty wallet. Shizuo looked at me, hard expression on his face as he tried to figure out why I was asking. "Humor me," I told him, returning the harsh expression.

"Find you, get you, go home," he said simply, crossing his arms.

"Well then it's time for the change-up since school just ended," I said, looking behind him to see Kazuhiro tapping his phone impatiently, the digital clock clearly lit up in blue.

"No," he said indignantly, scowling like a small child.

"Well, you know what they say. "Beggars can't be choosers", right Shizu-chan?" I said, walking determinably back to our clunker of a car.

"Do _not_ call me that!" he yelled.

"Not you, Jackass. My kitty-cat's name is Shizu-chan," I corrected, throwing a backward glance over my shoulder at a more than annoyed Shizuo.

"You named your cat that stupid name?" he scoffed while trailing behind me, as were the others that were slightly confused by my current attitude.

"What can I say? His bitter attitude and constant hissy-fit reminds me of you, Shizu-chan."


	40. Chapter 40:Let's Go for a Drive

I wouldn't say it was awkward, I'd say it was…quiet, silent, totally not weird as Shinra, Shizuo, Kichiro and I sat around each other in the flat bed of the truck while Colm—the caring, traitorous bastard—and Kazuhiro sat up front in the cab; Hikaru and Yuki drove behind us in his cop car as we drove to pick Sora up from school.

"Can I turn on the radio? The tension between you and your rag-tag team of weirdoes is starting to get on my nerves," Kazuhiro called over his shoulder, through the small window in the glass.

"With you, everything starts out on your nerves," Kichiro said back, arms folded lazily behind his head, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle inches from Shinra's right thigh. Shizuo's own legs were bent at the knee, his arms resting on top of them while he stared—viciously—over them at me, like he was making sure I didn't get up and leave again. I stared back fearlessly, legs stretched out straight between his parted feet with my arms crossed over my chest, the soles of my shoes centimeters away from his pelvis. Shinra, being the odd duckling he was, was sitting cross-legged next to me, talking away animatedly with Colm about some-such. Besides them, the only other creature that seemed to be having a pleasant time was my kitten as he lay curled up in the small, fluffy ball on top of my knees, basking in the warmth of the late May sun.

"Yeah, but this is just pitiable. Hey! Four-eyes and Blonde! How the hell did you guys get here the same time Greta and the Lawyer Duo did?" Kazuhiro asked, looking back at us through the mirror.

"Greta?"Shinra asked, confused and amused at the same time.

"Oh, right. Pfft~ how'd we ever forget that one, Colm?" Kichiro asked through bouts of laughter.

"That's an interesting nickname, Amai. Is that what you're called here?" Shinra asked me good naturedly, usual smile on his face that didn't seem to waver a bit in the presence of my scowl.

"Don't let her face fool ya, when she was little our Uncle Malcolm used to call her that all the time. Made her mad as hell whenever we called her that though, always complaining that's it's her 'special nickname from Uncle Malcolm'," Kichiro explained, "But just so ya know, the people here call her "Tomboy Tachibana"."

"Shut it, Dipshit!"

"Before we get to the school and all topics of interest die out, how 'bout you answer my question already," Kazuhiro said, shooting an annoyed glare through the rearview mirror. It was then that my main concern made its way back to the forefront of my mind. How the hell did Shizuo and Shinra get here at roughly the same time as us when Shizuo only found out early this morning? And frankly, if Shinra was here, then Celty was obviously here. Raising my hand, I placed it heavily on Shinra's shoulder and leaned in close to his ear so that my brothers couldn't hear me.

"Kishitani-san, I swear if Celty is here I'll do to you what I did to thirty-three innocent male calves," I murmured threateningly. It was evident that Shinra had been friends with Shizuo for a very long time, simply because my threat only fazed him slightly while the multiple times I had used it before made guys go to protect their balls.

"I asked if she wanted to come with us, but she said she couldn't risk losing track of her head," he said, loud enough for my brothers to hear.

"Who's 'her' and what's wrong with her head?" Kichiro asked a single eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"What makes you think there's something wrong with her head?" Shizuo said, speaking up for the first time since we left the dessert shop. While I had been in Ikebukuro little more than two years, my brothers had been there for more than nine, and while Kichiro had been more of the partier and Colm the natural bookworm, I assumed they had both heard of, and seen, Shizuo in action since, I'm assuming, his high school days. With all that said, it slightly surprised me that Kichiro regarded him like any other regular person he kept within his social circle.

"Well, with what Dr. Quack said, I assume a lot. But since you seem to know her too…care to share a little insight…?" Kichiro said smoothly, unfolding his arms from behind his head to lean his body back on his elbows against the inside of the truck, looking up at him with a mix of shrewd and smug emotions clear on his face. Shizuo looked down at him with a slight glare before turning it on me, making it seem like I was the one that was supposed to answer. Supposing I should since I was the one to bring her up, and because Shinra couldn't keep his damn mouth shut, I answered with something half-assed and half-formed.

"Celty's so used to Ikebukuro that going anywhere else for a long period of time…it would, um…disorient her," I said, "You know, make her lose her head." It was a pathetic lie, but he seemed to buy it nonetheless as he looked at the back of the cab of the truck with a disgruntled expression. I turned my attention away from him and back to Shizuo, pleased to see that he was looking at me with a very slightly, less aggravated look. "You still haven't answered the question, Shizuo-kun~" I might not have been a master—or even an apprentice—in the art of seduction, but I damn well knew how to get my questions answered via nefarious means. Picking my cat up from his make-shift bed, I extracted my legs from between his and crawled across the flatbed to sit next to him, bending my legs up to my chest so my left was stretched out along his right. "I'll let you play with my kitty as long as you want if you tell me what I want to know~" I said sliding my hands to under the kitten's front legs, holding him up in front of my face for Shizuo to see.

"Come on, Greta. Don't whore yourself out like that," Kazuhiro interrupted, snapping my attention away from Shizuo's entranced expression towards my kitten, to the back of my brother's dyed black hair.

"Way to be classy, Hiro-chan," I muttered, fearing that if I spoke any louder I'd snap Shizuo out of this semi-conflicted state he seemed to be in. As if he was debating between getting his own questions answered, or playing with a cute, fluffy animal.

"Took the train," he said simply, giving no insight or details about anything else as his attention was divided in half between me and my yawning kitten, Shizu-chan.

"You took a train. And then?"

"Took another train."

"You're lack of answers is really starting to piss me off," I said, still trying to figure out how he, a man who got pissed off at everything and who had only just this morning started this tedious endeavor. I suppose on some level I should be impressed and delighted that he cared enough to actually do this at all. Too bad my personality wouldn't let me do that.

"I think what Shizuo means to say is that we took the Bullet Train and then transferred to another line to get here," Shinra said, revising what was previously said into a more complete sentence.

"We took the Bullet Train too, but how'd you get here so fast? We left at two in the morning and you must have left at eight at least," Colm asked him through the window.

"Did you take the connecting train on the Tsugaru-Kaikyō Line? You know, the one connecting Honshu to Hokkaido?"

A moment of silence fell over the truck, the only sounds being the occasional horn and the rattle underneath that never seemed to go away no matter how many times Carney looked at it. In nine years, my older brothers had never once told me exactly how they had gotten home when they had a vacation at school. And the few times we had gone up together they had said nothing about an alternative mode of transportation, meaning that they had not thought of it either. That however hadn't stopped them from asking me about it.

"Hey, Amai, how come you didn't think of that?" they asked in unison.

"How come you two dumbasses didn't come up with it first if it was so simple?!" I snapped at them, pissed that they were reprimanding me for something that they didn't know either.

"Now now, Amai-chan. I'm sure you could have thought of it sooner or later," Shinra said, raising his hands in a placating manner, only to have it back fire on him when my mentality snapped a bit.

"Just what are you insinuating, Kishitani-san?" I asked darkly, feeling very insulted.

"Oh, no, Amai-chan, I didn't mean anything like that," he responded, quickly backpedaling over his slip up.

"It sounded to me like he was calling you stupid," Kazuhiro said, being his usual self in the sense that he was screwing people over for his own amusement.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Shizuo, hold my cat while I kill your friend," I said, gently pushing the small kitten into his large hands before getting on my knees to crawl back next to Shinra.

"You should probably do that latter, Greta. The kiddies are already outside waiting for us," Kazuhiro said, turning a corner onto the school's street, greeting us with a somewhat familiar sight.

To anyone else they might've looked like a normal pair of high school girls: a tall girl with long, light brown hair bouncing on the toes of her sneakers with a very wide smile on her face, and a girl with shoulder length black hair and square shaped glasses perched on a slightly crooked nose, a small smile on her heart shaped face as she looked at her friend, bemused.

On my brief visits back home, I had met both my brothers' girlfriends: the ever perky and ever bright Mamimi and the oh-so-sweet and oh-so-bookish Setsuko. In a way they were my brothers' opposites, and yet somehow at the same time they were perfect together, both complimenting and bringing out the better halves of my brothers. I suppose if I was making a list of every way in which Carney and Kazuhiro were not like the other, it would be who and how they met, and hooked up with, their current girlfriends.

Mamimi's cheerful disposition and upbeat attitude both clashed and complimented Kazuhiro's cynical and gloomy personality, and while they tended to have their spats and arguments, they still managed to get along like sea anemones and Clown fish. How they ended up together was like that of magnets: they were just simply drawn to each other.

The relationship between Setsuko and Carney was a bit of a cliché. It was a kind of "Boy Meets Girl" thing: boy is a common delinquent, girl is the stereotypical nerd; boy bumps into girl, girl shrugs it off; boy gets interested, girl shrugs _him _off; boy gets creative, girl gets annoyed. From there it would seem like the only logical path would be for the guy (Carney) to rescue the girl (Setsuko) from some kind of trouble or from a rival school's gang who figured out she was someone special to him. But Carney's not the type of guy to go along the predestined route. No, he's the type of guy to go over to his rival's school and kick the crap out of him for fun, only to discover he is her cousin and get hit in the head with one of her books. I myself am fuzzy on the details of how they got together at all since I had moved to Tokyo two months prior, but from what Patrick wrote me, Setsuko had taken it upon herself to keep Carney out of trouble both at school and in public and had somehow reciprocated the love of her ward some number of weeks later.

In the long run though, how they ended up together didn't really matter to them or anyone else whose existence lived within the radar of one Carney "Carnage" Tachibana. The only thing about their relationship anyone else seemed to care about was that Setsuko was able to calm Carney down from his constant irritations with her calm and collected disposition. Truthfully I wasn't very much different from the rest of the flock, except in the way that I truly felt they were made for each other.

"Amaaaaaaai-chaaaaaan! It's so good to seeeeeee you!" Mamimi called loudly, waving her arm enthusiastically as soon as, I'm assuming, she saw my bright red hair. Kazuhiro, rather begrudgingly I might add, slowed the car to a stop right next to the pair on the sidewalk. Behind us, Yuki stopped his car, his displeased expression showing clear on his face while Hikaru's was laid back and amused.

"Hi Mamimi-chan, Setsuko-chan," I called back over the top of Shinra's head as I held him in a headlock.

"Amai-chan, who's the blond and the brunette in the truck with you and your brothers? And what's your brother wearing 'round his neck?" Mamimi asked me, grabbing the rusty side of the truck and hoisting herself up to my eyelevel using the rubber tire as a step ladder.

"_Mamimi_, just…just quiet your voice a bit? I've gone through too many emotions today and being happy isn't on the list," Kazuhiro said, stopping himself short and revising his attitude towards her, in favor of not getting on her bad side—if there even was one I had yet to see.

"Kazuhiro-kun~ Can Setsuko-chan and I come over to your house today?" Mamimi asked, deviating from her original question.

"If you wanna be less happy than you already are…then please, by all means, get in," he said, growing even more monotonous by the end of his small spiel.

"Yay! Setsuko, c'mere," she shouted, reaching behind her to grab the shoulder strap of her friend's book bag, dragging her closer to the edge of the truck before lifting the strap over her head and throwing it into the bed of the truck, throwing her body inside the truck moments later.

"So, who's the guy in the bartender suit and the guy in the lab coat?" she asked no one in particular as she squeezed herself between me and Shinra, effectively separating me from partially choking him.

"Another of your relatives, Amai?" Shizuo asked looking mildly annoyed at the presence of one bright and sunny Third Year.

"Possible future in-laws via Kazuhiro and Carney," I replied as Setsuko climbed in beside him, hugging her book bag against her chest and drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Aww~ I can't wait to have you as an in-law either!" Mamimi said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and dragging me against her in a sort of one-armed hug.

"Likewise someday," Setsuko said softly, a small smile on her face.

"I don't recall ever proposing to you," Kazuhiro muttered from the cab, sounding as blasé as ever, "and speaking of girlish dreams, where is Sora? He's supposed to be here by now," he said, calling most of our attention to the fact that there was no homosexual teenage, red-haired boy flushing red in the presence of one—or possibly two if you ignored his annoying inquisitive nature—handsome/cute men.

"He's been actin' kinda strange at school lately. A lot more…what's the word, Setsuko?" Mamimi asked her, putting a finger to her lip in a somewhat thoughtful expression.

"Aggressive," Setsuko supplemented.

"No way. He's too soft and nonthreatening," Kichiro disagreed, "You know, like Colm."

"I wouldn't say he's nonthreatening. Right now he's endangering my romantic relationship because of a phony text," I replied sardonically, glaring at him from the corner of my eye. A soft squeak sounded from Setsuko as Shizuo abruptly stood up, the metal of the flatbed groaning in protest at the sudden movement while Shizu-chan hissed his displeasure at being handed off so roughly in Setsuko's lap. Shizuo turned away from us and placed one shoe against the metal side of the truck, balancing momentarily on it before dropping down to the asphalt below. After the initial shock of his suddenness, I quickly asked him what he was doing before he stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the school.

"That kid Sora, he's the one that looks like you, right?" he said, removing his sunglasses and tucking them into the breast pocket on his vest.

"Yeah…you're not…going in there to get him, are you?" I asked hesitantly, trying to decide if I was shocked or confused.

"Anything so we can do whatever is you came here for sooner," he said vaguely, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking towards the school gate, disappearing around the corner of the brick wall. It went silent then for those of us waiting for yelling, destruction, and possible flying people. For those who knew nothing of his exploits, they simply spoke idle chitchat back and forth to each other while the waited for him to return.

He returned a few minutes later without a single word or scratch thrown anyone's way, except for of course the plaid-green uniformed youth kicking his heels up every which way as he bent over the tall blonde's shoulder, Shizuo's hand holding the back of his jacket in a tight fisted grip as he wriggled to and fro, shouting various insults and threats—both of which were very uncharacteristic of him—at the few boys who stepped forward into our line of sight behind Shizuo. Two of the boys were holding their hands to the faces—one over their nose, and another over their left jaw—while one of the remaining two was holding a hand over their ribs. In all honesty, I would have assumed that Shizuo had done something to the boys for so much as hindering his task, had it not been for what Sora was saying—or more so shouting.

"_If you think this is over just 'cause some hot guy is carrying me away, you're dead wrong, Ass wipes! We'll finish this tomorrow when I grind you're noses into the ground as if they were shit on a shoe! You hear me you shit stains?!_" he screamed uncharacteristically at them, limbs flailing wildly like he was trying to claw at them through the wide expanse of air.

"Whoa," was all that slipped out of my mouth, while behind me, Colm and Kichiro simply stared, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

"Hey, Sora, what the hell?!" Kazuhiro called out to him, hand raised up to his mouth, "I thought we agreed on body-shots only?!"

Figures he would know Sora was falling off his rocker and not say anything about it. He's always been hard on him about showing backbone and I guess he saw this tragedy as an opportunity to teach Sora to stand up for himself. I'd be impressed if I wasn't so offended.

"Why do I feel like you're using Sora as a distraction?" I said, looking at him out of the corner of my narrowed eyes.

"Well, you're half right. The other reason is that I finally have some new clay to work with," he replied sounding vaguely pleased with himself.

'_Guess that's what I get for spending so much time with him and Carney as a teenager,'_ I thought dismally before turning my attention back to the flailing youth on my boyfriend's shoulder.

"Oi, kiddo! Cé chomh fada is atá tú ag dul a neamhaird a dhéanamh do dheirfiúr i bhfabhar yelling bagairtí comhlán?" (How long are you going to ignore your sister in favor of yelling gross threats?)

He stopped his flailing and slipped from Shizuo's shoulder soundlessly, letting him walk back to the truck. Setsuko scooted closer to Kichiro, letting Shizuo step back up into the back of the truck

"…Maggie nee-sama…?" he asked quietly, his shaking shoulders making his whole body move.

"Ghaeilge nó Seapáinis?" (Irish or Japanese?) I asked him.

"Hmph…I ndáiríre, i ndáiríre, ba mhaith i ndáiríre a barróg ceart agat anois ... ach níl mé ag iarraidh chun breathnú lag i os comhair na chumps." (I really, really, really want to hug you right now...but I don't want to look weak in front of these chumps.) He looked back at us, despite the tough guy persona he was wearing like a second skin, the look in his eye—frankly—didn't have enough bite in them.

"Tch, ansin a shábháil ar an lag-asal cacamas touchy-mothaithe do bhaile, Leanaí. Níl gá a athrú ar do phearsantacht mar gheall ar roinnt íseal-saol magadh do collaíochta," (Tch, then save the weak-ass touchy-feely crap for home, Child. No need to change your personality because of some low-lives mocking your sexuality,) I said waving him off before pressing my back against the rusted metal of the inside of the truck.

"…I wasn't fighting for that," he said, his voice returning to its normal, slightly whiney tone.

"Then why, pray tell, did you wail on four boys three or four inches taller than you?" I asked him, switching tongues back to Japanese. In reality my siblings and I probably only ever spoke Irish to One) annoy people, Two) secretly converse with our Dad when we did something bad enough to piss Mom off, and Three) because we could.

He didn't respond in any way to me, other than turning his body to face us fully and grabbing his left arm in a defensive move. After a short moment, he walked away from me and headed to the cab of the truck—to Kazuhiro—and whispered something in his ear. I grew mildly annoyed, crossing my arms over my chest as I watched them secretly converse. Sora's face showed his conflicted attitude, either for the situation he had been in or his current now I wasn't quite sure, while Kazuhiro's emotional state showed through a slight change in his facial features—he seemed more annoyed and for the first time since Christmas: pissed off—something that no one in my family wanted if the Tar-and-Feathering of '05 was any reference point.

Wordlessly he got out of the car, slamming the door shut and stalking to the school grounds, leaving Sora to trail behind him hesitantly, like he had lost the will to fight. My brother's and I sat in curiosity of what would make Kazuhiro act so physically, while the others in the truck simply wondered what was going on—with the exception of Shizuo as he looked more antsy with each passing second, and a feint vein in his forehead was starting to make itself known. Briefly rubbing my forehead to get rid of any migraine starting to form there, I decided to make this encounter shorter for him, as well as more bearable.

"Hey, Shizuo, why don't you go wait in Yuki's car. I'll be with you in a sec.," I told him, looking through slightly narrowed eyes at my older brothers as they looked back at me, probably knowing the same thing I did: that those shitty kids had said something about Mom. Various things came to mind about what they most likely said, things along the line of her being a cold, heartless bitch, but that was probably because she used to be so ruthless in her day and age, back when she was a teenager, and a young adult, possibly even a few years ago.

Sora was the most non-violent person in the family. Tied for second were Kichiro, Colm and Patrick, but that much was obvious from their line of work. Carney and Kazuhiro were Mom's apprentices, inheriting her mentality and intuition as a pair, the brain and brawn as it were, needing each other to hold the other back. Like what Patrick had said in his letter to me, Carney probably had whatever genes I had: he was violent, had a trigger that was hard to predict, and never listened to anyone unless they had a good standing point in his personal relationships. Kazuhiro was almost his opposite; he was more patient, more calculating, more…savvy. He was fine as is; we didn't need a repeat of four years ago.

"Mamimi, come with me for a second," I told her, climbing out of the truck and walking towards the bane of every teenagers existence. _'This is going to be a long week,'_ I thought, walking quickly over to the boy with dyed-black hair as he pushed one steel-toed boot into the middle of one of the high schooler's back, pulling his arms farther behind him as he stared down at him wildly. _'A very long week,'_ I thought once again, wrapping my arm around his neck and grabbing his right wrist, pulling it behind his body as he screamed and cursed and threatened me and them with every ounce of hatred within his body.

_DRRR!_

It didn't take long for me to pull Kazuhiro away from them, for Mamimi to use her influential charm to have the boys keep to themselves the nature of their injuries, and for Sora to help me calm down Kazuhiro. The only thing that would take time was the healing, both physically and physiologically. This is what I kept thinking after depositing Kazuhiro inside the cab, leaving him sandwiched between Mamimi and Colm, leaving them to both care for him and drive the lot of them home. I turned away from them to see Shizuo leaning against the side of the cop car, hands stuffed deep in his pockets, a slim cigarette sticking out from between his lips, a thin line of smoke swirling in the air from its tip. The thin stream turned into a thicker column when he took the cigarette from his lips and blew out the smoke, noticing me for the first time when I stopped before him. The smoke curled around my head, its' pungent smell staining the fabric of my red fedora and causing my eyes to water a little. It gave me a good excuse to wipe my eyes before moving past him to get into the squad car.

"Hey, Amai," I heard his gruff voice say, making me stop in place, hand frozen on the handle as I waited for him to say more. "why are you here?" I hesitated before opening the door, taking a step closer to the interior only to be stopped short when his hand wrapped around my upper arm, stopping me from slipping inside. "I did what you asked this entire time. Now stop screwing around and tell me the goddamn reason you're here."

I wrenched my arm from his grasp and gave him a single hard look before ducking my head and stepping into the backseat. He slid in beside me moments later, slamming the door shut harshly, causing Yuki to flinch at the sound and Hikaru to glance back, a quizzical expression on her face.

"…So, should I read you your rights? Or should I just…shut up and drive in complete, tense silence?" Yuki asked hesitantly, nervously. We stayed silent; I stared out the window with my hand under my chin, a mix between irritation and confliction etched on my face. Shizuo crossed his arms over his chest and did the same, with the exception of anger and frustration on his face. Yuki said nothing else before pulling away from the curb, driving past the parked truck full to the brim with the weird people I know and love—with the exception of Shinra since he was just plain weird.

After the car hit the outskirts of the city, I lost some of my annoyance, meaning that my confliction rose up in its place, bringing with it the annoying little voice in the back of my mind that kept saying: it's only fair! It's only fair!

'_If I had the ability, I'd take that stupid voice out back and shoot it,'_ I thought irritably, drumming my fingers on the upholstery out of boredom, only to have them gripped tightly between callused fingers and hard plastic. I glanced over at him with an expression that just said one simple word: What?

"That's annoying. Knock it off."

"I can think of one other thing that's annoying," I muttered rolling my eyes at him, making him narrow his own at my response.

"The only thing that's annoying is that you won't tell me why you're here," he growled lowly, releasing my hand in favor of gripping the edge of the seat, fingers digging holes into the hard plastic.

My lips quirked up in a sneer as I said, "You know what's annoying? You. You are so goddamn annoying. And it doesn't have anything to do with what happened an hour ago, I'm used to that—hell I even see it coming! No, it's that you're here when you're not supposed to be. And I'm not taking any more of this BS about you being here because I'm here, so why don't you just tell me why you're really here, Shizuo?!"

"_I'm here because you were acting weird last week, okay?!_" he yelled, slamming his fist against the metal cage separating us from Hikaru and Yuki. For a minute I felt like I was trapped in a cage with a wild beast before I focused on what Shizuo had said.

"What the hell are you talking about? I was acting normal last week," I disagreed, as normal as I ever was anyway, with the exception of feeling a little hollow in my chest.

"You were acting like a dog in heat," he said dismissively, seriously.

"Did you ever think that maybe I wanted 'it' badly?" I scoffed, thoroughly whelmed by Shizuo's virgin existence. In front of us, I heard Yuki and Hikaru silently conversing between themselves.

"Hey! If ya got something to say, say it outright," I said hitting the metal fence, startling them.

"Oh, no, we weren't talking about you or anything, Amai," Hikaru said, hands flailing in "calm down" gesture.

"Hikaru, your tell is showing. Just spit it out already," I said taking a break from Shizuo's absurd claim that I was acting 'weird' last week.

"Fine, I told Yuki you guys were acting like an old married couple," Hikaru relented, crossing her arms in a pout.

"What'd Yuki say?"

"Granted he's a sort of newbie, he said he'd seen domestic disturbances with less banter in them," she said, selling him out wholeheartedly.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad," I disagreed.

"Yeah, from your point of view. Personally, it reminded me of the "special talks" Mom and Dad have," Yuki said, shuddering a bit in his seat. At this I had to agree since the first time I had heard them figh—er "talk" was the last time I slept over at his house.

"Point taken, but I am in the right here," I said impertinently, noticing Shizuo scoff out of the corner of my eye.

"Come on, Amai. It's not like he slept with some cheap floozy—"

"It was once and we were on pause," Hikaru interrupted, eyes wide with unreserved frustration, "And just so we're clear, we didn't sleep together. It only went as far as second and all I did was sleep over at her house _once._ I'm not in the wrong here."

"If you weren't in the wrong then why—"

"Guys, let's get back on track, shall we?"

"Okay, first of all, Amai…I'm on his side. He's in the right here," Yuki said, glancing back at me through the rearview mirror.

"What?!" I exclaimed, my jaw dropping open at the sudden betrayal of my best guy friend.

"Come on, all the guy did was get tricked by a phony mail, track you down to this location, disrupt the peace like it was his backyard and intrude on a time that's very difficult and depressing for you and your family…I'm surprised you're not yelling at him louder. But you know, besides all that, the only reason he came all the way up here is because clearly he cares about you," Yuki said, making me speechless for the time in the last twenty minutes. And yet, despite his clear point and Shizuo's weird way of telling me he cares, I still felt the need to argue against them.

"But—"

My argument ended before it began when Yuki pressed down on the brake, sending me, once again, into metal.

"Son of a bitch! _Again?_ What the hell?!" I said while peeling my face off the metal fence, rubbing my sore cheek. Lucky me he was going thirty or I'd have a chicken-wire pattern on my face.

"You didn't wear your seat belt, did you," Yuki said, reprimanding me with a single look while Hikaru rubbed her chest where the seat belt had cut into her body. Shizuo growled lowly, annoyed at the suddenness of the stop.

"Shut up and get to the point," I muttered, drawing the constricting strap across my chest and snapping it in place. He smirked despite himself and put the car in motion again, lucky for him no one else seemed to be on the road at this time or we would've had more to deal with because of that move he had pulled.

"I understand that you hate pity, but you're in this mess because you didn't tell him the truth. So stop being such a girl, grow a pair, and tell him already!"

It was about this time that Shizuo had had enough of our three-way conversation, and of being talked about while he was present. "Amai, what the hell are you guys talking about?" he asked me. As much as I didn't want to, and as much as I wanted to just leave it alone there really wasn't any point to it anymore. He was here, plain and simple, and regardless of my interference, he'd find out eventually, so why the hell not now?

"I'm ah…I'm here for a um…" somehow the words themselves seemed to dry up and die in my mouth, and yet I found myself still determined to get it out. "I'm here for a funeral. And it's for my Mom."

The reaction was palpable: a slight widening of the eyes, a crease between his eyebrows as they knitted together, it was a look I had seen from my few personal relationships this past week. The only physical difference being the dour look on his face and when he stopped ripping apart the upholstery with his fingers, sliding his palm over my hand and gripping it tightly, like he was trying to apologize through touch alone. It was a gesture I both appreciated and resented. However, when I looked up at his face and saw him staring forward, expressionless, I let it go, reveling in the comfortable feeling of having his hand wrapped around mine for the rest of the drive. It was only when the farm house came into view that that comfortable feeling went away, replaced instead by a certain amount of dread, amusement, exasperation and just plain embarrassment when I saw my father rolling around on the front lawn with one other man, Uncle Kashi most likely, four or five men around them either laughing their asses off or making wages. The only sensible person seemed to be a prison guard who was standing off to the side looking very tired; either because of this or because it was a long day I could whole-heartedly sympathize with.

"Welcome to the Macneil Dairy Farm," I said weakly, feeling for the first time in nine years the embarrassment of my boyfriend seeing my father act like a teenager again. "Stand by for possible bruising and/or threats by pitchfork."


	41. Chapter 41: The Best Medicine

As Yuk pulled up to the group, they—the group surrounding Dad and Uncle Kashi—panicked and started hiding whatever money they had in their hands in their pockets, ducking their heads to see inside the car at the man they thought was here to investigate. Sawakagi-san visibly relaxed at the sight of the police car, probably hopeful that the police man inside would disrupt the fight going on in our front lawn. It was almost heartbreaking that I was the one that had to break up this fight instead of the very capable—yet weak-spined—man who was currently slumped over the steering wheel, softly banging his head. I've known Yuki since I was six years old when one of our calves wandered into their horse stable no more than a mile away. The first thing I ever said to him was an insult and the first thing I ever did with him involved a bucket, two feet of rope, and his left arm. So needless to say I could easily figure out that he was thinking something along the lines of: why oh why do I have to deal with Amai and her crazy-ass family?

"I am _so_ going to bang their heads together like coconuts," I said calmly while taking my hat off to run a hand through my hair in slight frustration, annoyed that I had to deal with more of this shit today. _'I can't wait to go to sleep tonight…sleep. Crap! Where the hell are Shizuo and Shinra staying?'_ I thought, growing more agitated by the second as Yuki got out of the car, making the men there visibly relax and Sawakagi-san drop his head in misery. "Okay, just stay here for a while, I'll be right back," I told Shizuo while unlocking the seatbelt and placing my hat back on my head.

"No."

"Come on, just wait in the car for a few minutes and I'll do something nice in return," I told him while Yuki circled around the car, ignoring the cat-calls from my Aunt Senri.

"You can't bribe me every time you want som—!" he stopped immediately when I pressed my lips against his, silencing anything else he might've said about me trying to manipulate him. I wouldn't say I was "manipulating" him per se. However, I will admit to using mild, nefarious means. When I pulled away he had a scowl on his face and slightly pink ears.

"You think kissing me will keep me here?" he asked me.

"No, frankly I don't. But it did stop you from talking," I said smiling cheekily at him while Yuki opened the door behind me, letting me slide out of the backseat and onto the gravel driveway, closing the door behind me. When I looked back through the glass I saw he looked aggravated but otherwise compliable, folding his arms across his chest before looking forward through the glass, tense posture and livid expression clear that he didn't like being set aside and ignored for the moment.

Well tough. He ignored me for two weeks because of an obvious lie, so he'd just have to deal with being ignored for the next…ten minutes to twelve days if the funeral plans and mental rehabilitation of my father and younger brothers went relatively okay.

I looked over to my father and my uncle, seeing that despite the arrival of a police-issued vehicle, they were still rolling around, hitting each other like children—only with a lot more malice and spite. Sighing to myself I slowly but surely walked over to the pair and their ring of groupies, stopping at the edge of their invisible circle, and waiting for–apparently no reason—them to notice me. When they carried on with their shenanigans, I finally took initiative and reached down between them, taking the edge of their ears and twisting them forward painfully, catching their attention long enough to stop their pointless fighting and drag them up to their knees, earning different reactions from the two:

My dad, having been used to this kind of treatment from both my mom and me, stopped his fidgeting and gave me a look, a look that said: you know why I did this and you know you would have done the exact same thing.

My uncle continued to fight against me, clawing and grabbing my hand and wrist in an attempt to either stop the pain or get me away from his person. When I determined that they had calmed down a bit, I finally let go of their ears; Dad slowly got up from the ground, stretching his back with residual pops and sighed with a pleased expression while Uncle Kashi stumbled to his feet, rubbing his sore ear and glaring at me with a fierce look. Like my mom, Kashi had fair skin, black hair cut short above his ears, and a thin frame—overall he looked like a run-of-the-mill salary man minus the glasses, neat haircut, and non-deranged personality. He wasn't as short as Mom was, maybe a few centimeters taller than she is—was. Personality-wise he was cocksure and self-involved—although many people seemed to mistake it as arrogant and cold-blooded. They were right of course but that's beside the point.

"So, the prodigal son returns," he spit, looking me up and down before sneering, "Still as short as ever I see. Just like nee-san."

"Don't call me that," I said before turning away from him to hug my dad, bringing him in close as he squeezed me tightly. "How are you doing, Dad?" I asked him, feeling the rumble in his chest as he chuckled humorlessly.

"Better…after hitting that ballbeg. The last week's been…horrible to say the least." he said removing my hat and ruffling my hair before placing the battered, red hat upon his own head.

"What did he call me? Listen you Irish bastard—" Kashi started before Dad interrupted him harshly, standing up to his full height of six-foot-four for intimidation purposes.

"Don't you dare talk to me that way. This is my family's business and home. And you are not my family," he said sweet, simple and short, staring down at him angrily, like he was a rat he found in his food pantry. Like the defiant, arrogant person he is, Kashi sneered at him and said,

"Then Senri and Tarou shouldn't be here either." He looked behind us at his brother and sister—my aunt and uncle—and looked back at him with a cocky half-smile. "But I don't think Yasuko-chan would like that decision."

"_How dare you_. They _never_ broke Yasuko's heart as many times as you did," Dad growled lowly, narrowing his eyes at him, hands clenched against his sides. The silence was deafening and the tension about as thick as cow crap between the two of them. Which made the sound of screeching metal and flying gravel all the more comforting to my sore ears. Dad and Kashi stayed in their stare down, only a slight jolt from both parties signifying that they had heard and partially acknowledged the intrusive noise. The rest of the people gathered there—me included—turned our attention to a single, long, black slack covered leg extending out of the side of the police car, its door lying close to thirty feet away on the green grass by the barn.

"What the hell was _that_?" my Uncle Tarou exclaimed, one hand on his hip while the other was raised to his brow, like he was looking at something in a far away distance, and not something twenty feet away.

"More like _who_ the hell is that. And what a 'who' he is. Hel-_lo_ gorgeous," Aunt Senri purred her own hand on her hip while her left slid her over sized sunglasses down her nose, watching as Shizuo stepped out of the car and looked over at us.

Shizuo's POV~

"No, frankly I don't. But it did stop you from talking," she said smiling cheekily at me before her police friend opened the door behind her. With a softer smile she slid out of the car and closed the door behind her. I turned away from her, looking beyond the metal fence and wind shield towards the small group of people surrounding a pair of men fighting on the ground. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Amai turn to face them, walking towards them with somewhat hesitant steps.

"So, you're name is Shizuo?" the woman in the front seat asked, turning in her seat to face me, ignoring Amai as she reached down into the tumble of bodies and pulled them up by their ears.

I flicked my eyes over at her. She looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen her before. "Do I know you?" I asked while squinting at her, coming up blank.

"Yeah, Amai told me about your name-face-memory issue. I'll introduce myself then. Hi! I'm Kimura Hikaru, Amai's best friend! I'd shake your hand but…well you see the problem," she said gesturing with a bracelet covered hand at the fence separating us. A face came to mind, two actually, both smiling in the middle of a baseball diamond.

"Hikaru…you're the guy that was stripping in front of Amai!" I said, feeling my anger spike at the thought of the conversation I had heard on the phone.

"Eh heh heh, you heard that?" she asked sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"Yeah, I heard a lot of shit. Why the hell were you suggesting that?!" I asked her, raising my hand to grip the fence between us, bending it under my will while she scoffed and rolled her eyes at my question. Why was everyone here always rolling their eyes at me? So _freakin' _annoying!

"Oh please, like I'm the only one that recognizes that Amai's an attractive person—well, her personality turns most people off, but—hey! Is that the reason you won't sleep with her?!" she said, jumping from one thing to another, like some kind of cricket. I looked away from her and back towards Amai, seeing her wrap her arms around a huge man with dull red hair. The anger waned in spite of my annoyance at this big boobed woman. I was here for Amai, even if my plans got changed because of her reason for being here. According to her officer friend, I was here because I cared. No shit I cared. What douche bag wouldn't care if their girlfriend disappeared for two days and they suddenly showed up in Hokkaido?

"So what was the reason you beat those guys up?" Hikaru asked me, snapping me out of my reverie but failing to snap my attention away from Amai.

"They were just bugging me," I told her, like I told everyone else who asked. She accepted it for about five seconds before she said something else, something that made me look away from Amai.

"If it's about Amai or her mom, I promise I won't tell her anything. Please tell me what they said?" she asked gently, like she was talking to someone emotionally unstable and knew it.

"…I overheard them talking about Yasuko—"

"Amai's mom. Sorry, go on."

"They were saying all kinds of shit about her and Amai. I lost it when they said the world would be better off if they both—who's that guy?" I asked her, seeing some salary man walk closer to the red head, getting too close, making him even angrier. Something about him…it just really pissed me off.

"Him? He's Amai's uncle, Kashi," Hikaru answered before sticking her tongue out at him, despite him not being able to see her.

"I don't like him."

"No one does. He broke Amai's mom's heart so many times—even with the type of business she was in," Hikaru continued, laying her afro covered head lazily against her hand while she stared out the window with me. Business? How does milking cows prepare someone for heartbreak?

"Why didn't Amai tell me about it?" I asked her when she brought Amai's mom up.

"About her mom's death?" she said blatantly.

"Yeah."

"Nnn…it stems back to when she was little and her grandfather died. I think she was about…nine then? Anyway, a lot of the kids in our class didn't exactly like her all too much, although that's probably because of the Dessert War of '94. Teachers didn't like her much either—probably 'cause they thought she dyed her hair." She started rambling but stopped immediately when she looked at me. "Not important, back to the point. Anyway, after his funeral everyone started being extra nice to her and it annoyed her because she knew they were being insincere and couldn't care less."

"How did she know?"

"All in the eyes, Sugar Pie. Amai can always tell by someone's eyes. That's pretty much how she cheats at poker," she said laughing airily while leaning back in her seat, looking out the windshield towards the odd group. "Uh oh. Looks like Kashi said something and August, Amai's dad, is about to kick his ass," she said under her breath, like she was waiting to watch the show.

"How long has it been since Amai left the car?" I asked her, turning in my seat to rest my right foot against the door.

"…about three minutes forty-seven seconds. Why?" she asked while looking at her watch, not aware that my right heel was pressed against the side of the door, slowly gathering pressure as I pushed against it harder and harder.

"I'm tired of waiting," I said. Bringing my leg back, I rushed it forward, stamping it against the door and tearing it off its hinges. It skidded few dozen feet away landing near a wood and wire fence, a black-and-white cow on the other side barely batted an eye at the sudden appearance of the car door. But I took no heed of the animal, the panicking officer friend, the big boobed woman looking owlish at me, or her family scrutinizing me. No, I only saw Amai. Only saw her gaping mouth and her semi relaxed, semi surprised face as she gawked at me.

Amai's POV~

"Dude…what the hell?" I asked him as he made his way over to us with his hands in his pockets and his sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose. When he stopped in front of me, he reached up and took off his sunglasses, folding them up and putting them in his left breast pocket while he said,

"You said a few minutes."

"You took it too literally! When I said a few minutes, I didn't mean a "few" minutes!" I said loudly, exasperated with his literal take on various phrases.

"Who are all these people?" he asked, looking at the group that sort of fanned out behind me, all eager to see who the blonde man was.

"Tch…screw it. It'd be too complicated to explain since you'd probably forget, but I'll put it in simplistic details," I told him, rubbing the back of my neck while gesturing to the part of my family that wasn't locked in a death stare-down. "I'll start from left to right with simple nicknames: Divorced Uncle, Cougar Aunt, Malcolm, August, Incarcerated Uncle and Prison Guard."

"How come foreign guy One and Two get to keep their names and the rest of us don't?" Tarou asked folding his arms over his lanky chest. By definition Tarou was both a computer nerd—complete with bad fashion sense and big vocabulary—and a bit of slacker with everything else. It was a wonder to me how he got married and had a kid with his disinterest in organic things. Then again with that in mind, it's no wonder he got divorced three years later.

"Would you rather be Uncle Nerd?" I asked him in all seriousness.

"Neither is great but I'd go for a combination of "oji" and "computer"," he told me, smiling a goofy smile

"Fine, the lanky guy in the red-and-green Hawaiian palm tree shirt is Compoji," I told Shizuo, pointing at the forty-six year-old man with the unshaved stubble, longish, dyed blonde hair and beige cargo shorts. "Any other complaints about your names?"

"No complaints with my name, but what about Cutie? Cutie got a name?" Aunt Senri asked, smiling an extra-wide smile while she slipped off her sunglasses, putting them in her pantsuit's pocket before crossing her arms. All the while she slid her mascara-lined eyes up and down Shizuo while he looked elsewhere—most likely at the continued stare down between Kashi and Dad.

I stepped in front of him, diverting her eyes from my boyfriend's ass to my face. An amused smirk graced her face as I glowered at her.

""Cutie's" got a girlfriend, too. And she'd appreciate it if you kept your cougar claws to yourself, even if your husband isn't here."

"He looks, too, Ojou-sama. Ain't nothing wrong with me doing it, too."

Feeling that the argument was pointless and fairly typical of her, I turned my attention to my Dad who—despite being in a three-way stare contest—still didn't seem to notice the six-foot-one, bleached blonde man beside me.

"Daid, is é seo Shizuo Heiwajima," (Dad, this is Shizuo Heiwajima.) I said, lifting a hand up to place it on Shizuo's bicep. As expected he didn't look up, continuing instead to glare at Uncle Kashi. The only thing he did to signify that he had heard what I had said was a grunt. I sighed to myself, rolling my eyes at his competitive nature._ 'At least I know where Colm got it from,'_ I thought to myself while sliding my hand down his arm to grab his hand. "Tá sé mo leannán buachalla," (He's my boyfriend) I continued immediately getting his attention and a satisfied smile from Uncle Kashi when he looked away from him—as if he had won the contest.

"The ultimatum doesn't apply to this particular situation," were the first words out of his mouth as he looked him up and down, seeming to zero in my and Shizuo's hands.

"Actually, he came of his own free will…and Colm's meddling," I explained. Beside me, Shizuo bent his head down to mine, his lips pressed close to my ear as he asked me,

"This guy is your dad?"

"How'd you guess? Did the charming personality and non-lethal glare give it away?" I asked sarcastically, "Or was it the red hair and green eyes? Usually people think it's the latter."

"I want an answer, not a question," he growled into my ear, making me roll my eyes at his reaction.

"You're just full of questions today, aren't you," I said turning my head, inadvertently grazing his lips with mine. "Fine fine, he is, Mr. Smarty Pants," I whispered back.

"So now I'm meeting your dad?" he said un-amused, like the thought somehow didn't appeal to him. Although in his defense, no man in his right mind would want to meet their girlfriend's father.

"You're the one that brought this on yourself, so you only have yourself to blame," I shot at him, my voice well over a whisper.

"As intimate as you two look, I still need to perform my fatherly duties which for me entitles quite a few things: minimum of two hour face time, some disapproval for your relationship if I find something about you dissatisfactory, and a series of individual questions—twelve for her," he raised his hand in front of Shizuo's face, palm facing forward with his fingers splayed, "five for you," he finished grinning down at him. All through my childhood I felt shorter than I was when compared to my father—what with being fourteen inches shorter currently. The first time I met Simon back when I was still a newbie to Ikebukuro…it's safe to say I was pretty much dwarfed by his utter hugeness. Yet despite either's height difference, or more so advantage, Shizuo didn't hesitate to show his irritation at having my dad's hand in his face. Before I could say anything the familiar rattling of the old truck rumbled towards us, momentarily distracting my father from the fuming blonde about to blow his top. I didn't need to look behind me to know that it was the old truck, and it didn't take a genius to know that Dad was looking at Kichiro's shock collar by the look of his arched eyebrow and slight quizzical expression. Then again he might have also been looking at Sora's minimal facial bruising or—if he could see inside the cab of the truck—Kazuhiro's non-sullen expression. Dad walked around us towards the truck, lifting Sora up out of the bed and onto the gravel road, placing a hand on his head and directing him towards the house, probably for the med kit in the kitchen.

Taking advantage of the small window of opportunity, I stepped in front of Shizuo and said, in a very clear, quiet, and persuasive voice that if he broke any part of my father, I'd castrate him personally and without anesthesia or medication. He seemed to get the message but it was hard to tell because of the slight upturn at the corner of his mouth and his hand on my head, ruffling my hair like I was a twelve-year-old kid. Childishly I pushed his hand away, jutting out my bottom lip in a sort-of pout because my threat wasn't being taken seriously. I bet if he talked to those emasculated cows he'd feel differently.

Just beyond Shizuo, I saw my Dad briefly converse with Kichiro, using a lot of hand gestures that looked like he was using a bat or an ax and pointing at the old shed that housed all of Carney's projects. Wordlessly Kichiro stood up from the flat bed and vaulted over the side, sprinting past us with a slight wave at our various relatives before hiding inside the house. Turning my eyes back to the people still sitting within the truck I noticed another conversation going on: one I didn't and would never like.

"Hey! Kishitani-san! Dad! What are you guys talking about?!" I shouted at them, leaning around Shizuo to see them better.

"Oh! Amai-chan! I was just telling your dad that I can answer any questions he has about your relationship."

'_No.'_

"And I was just taking him up on his offer. This one never lets me in her love life, and I can guess by looking that he's the strong, silent type. Hmm, well I'd like to know how far the relationship is if you can tell me, Sonny Boy," Dad said, wholeheartedly ignoring me.

'_Hell no.'_

"If you're talking about sex, I can assure you they haven't yet from what Celty told me," Shinra said all smiles as usual, despite the fact that I was perfectly willing to murder him in the coldest manner.

'_Oh, HELL no!'_

"_Kishitani-san!_" I yelled. Outraged, I stepped around Shizuo and stomped angrily towards them, hands itching to throttle him.

"I guess that answers one of my questions then," Dad said while leaning his shoulder against the side of the truck, green eyes glancing over at me with mischief.

"What was the question?" Shizuo called over at us, a small twitch in his eyebrows the only indication that he was even slightly annoyed at the topic at hand.

"You don't need to know the question," I called back to him from over my shoulder, no less than a few feet from the truck now, as opposed to the several dozens of feet of distance from before.

"I was just wondering if you have seen her tattoo," Dad shouted over at him, simultaneously catching the attention of not only Shizuo and Shinra, but also the two teenage girls in the truck who knew virtually nothing about me.

"No one needs to know the question!" I said panicking, my body feeling too tense and, frankly, violated as everyone in a fifty-foot radius started starting at me—probably trying to figure out where it was.

"Amai, you have a tattoo?!" Shinra said, for some reason looking both excited and shocked.

"No, he's lying!" I yelled at him, teeth bared and body livid as I tried to keep myself from shaking with anger.

"Yup! Has one right smack dab on 'er ass," Dad said, laughing heartedly as he smacked his own ass as an example.

"Dad, stop talking!" I said, annoyed that he was enjoying my embarrassment so much. But if I was being honest with myself, I'd say I was glad he was still able to laugh like that, even if it was at my expense.

"Is that why you're always covering your ass?" Shizuo asked me. Surely he was being serious. No, he was probably whole heartedly curious. But whether or not he was being sincere with his question didn't matter one Yen, the only thing that _did_ matter was that every. Single. Fucking. Person on this property was _laughing_ at me.

"_Can we please stop talking about ass?!_" I screamed above the raucous noise, feeling my face heat up—either from embarrassment or rage, I couldn't tell the difference. Right now my focus was on how to make them stop.

"We're not talking about your ass. Just the tattoo on your ass," Kazuhiro said laughing along with the rest of them, looking, for the first time since he was seven, like a happy-go-lucky kid. Good for him. But that didn't excuse the fact that the little bastard was laughing at me.

"Go screw yourselves, you Assholes!" I shouted at them before turning away, stalking back to the house.

"Hey, where are you going, Amai-chan?!" Shinra asked me as I took the first step onto the wrap-around porch.

"I'm going to take a nap since I've been up since two AM. Deal with my crazy-ass family on your own!" I told him, inclining my head very slightly in his direction. "Not to mention that this is your punishment for pissing me off."

"You're being a lot less violent than usual, Margaret," Uncle Malcolm said, speaking up for the first time since I had arrived home. In a lot of ways Uncle Malcolm and Dad were a lot alike—they were of course twin brothers—except for of course their height, hair color and facial hair—Uncle Malcolm was several inches shorter than Dad with short blonde hair and a clean shaven face. Their facial structure was roughly the same with their angular jaw, but to me his short hair made him look more like a soldier while my Dad looked like an outdoorsy woodsman—only his beard was roughly four centimeters long.

"I made a promise not to fight this week. Obviously I can't say the same for Dingus and Dumbass," I said, giving him no indication as to which of my brothers was which. Turning away from him I climbed the rest of the steps and pulled open the screen door, before I could pull open the second, Dad's voice stopped me, making me look back at him in curiosity since I was pretty sure I left on a clear note.

"Margaret, you better bring Shizuo along with ya."

"Why?"

"Shiny shoes. Give 'im some clothes from Patrick's closet to change in, as well as a little direction for the time you'll be out," he told me. I nodded in agreement and retraced my steps back to Shizuo's side, taking his sleeve and walking back to the house, only to be stopped by gravity and force of will.

"Shizuo, come on~ you have to change clothes while you're here," I told him, pouting irritably at his lack of movements.

"Why do I have to change clothes?" he asked me equally irritated.

"My dad's letting us stay in a room alone together for an indefinite amount of time. Relax and enjoy this rare opportunity," I said deadpan, ceasing my tugging on his shirt sleeve. He kept his eyes on me, glaring at me while silently telling me why he didn't want to. I sighed through my nose, shaking my head side to side slightly before grabbing his collar and dragging him down to my level while I stood on the tips of my toes. "At most you'll be here around three days. There's dirt, mud and other crap here. Do you really want any of that on or near the clothes your precious brother gave you?" I asked him softly in his ear, earning a quiet 'tch' sound and no further argument from him. Smiling triumphantly, I took his shirt cuff and pulled him along beside me and into the house.

He took off his shoes at the door and followed me upstairs, pausing in the second floor hallway at the sight of a long edged blade with a waved pattern, a diamond shaped guard and a white rawhide handle.

"What's this?" he asked, stopping me from pulling on the rope hanging from the ceiling, leading to the secret third floor.

"That old thing? It's Mom's Katana. She has, like, seven of them, but that one's her favorite," I said, turning back to look at the proudly displayed sword. "It's a few hundred years old, early Edo Period according to Sofu-san."

'_That reminds me, I should get mine out for tomorrow so I don't forget,'_ I thought to myself, pulling Shizuo away from the samurai sword and up the folded staircase to the attic.

"How far back does your mom's family go?" he asked climbing up after me, ducking his head when the swooping ceiling came into view.

"You'd have to ask Patrick that. I didn't really pay attention to the history lessons when Sofu-san came over to visit. The least I can tell you is that it went something like this: farmer, officer, samurai, shogun, back to samurai, yakuza and now dairy farmers. Yeah…I really should have paid more attention back then," I said, suddenly getting wistful, "Anyways!" I crouched down and pulled up the stairs, sealing the room in darkness before flipping the switch, revealing four doors and a window at the end of a thin hallway. "This is the little known third floor/attic. Two of the rooms up here are mainly used as storage space, and this door here," I pointed at a sickly orange painted door, "is the spare room/guest room. I don't even think it's been used before now."

"So that's your brother's room?" he asked me, pointing at the door labeled "Patrick's Room. No Kid Siblings Allowed."

"Yup, but before we go inside I need you to take off your pants," I told him, holding my hands out expectantly. He reacted like I expected: pissed and confused.

"What?! Why?!"

"If it makes you feel better, I want you to take your vest and shirt off, too, as well as hand over your shoes," I elaborated, wiggling my fingers as I kept my palms open.

"I'm not taking my clothes off!" he snarled at me.

"I'm sorry, did I stutter? I said: Take. Them. _Off_," I growled at him, narrowing my eyes at his stubbornness.

"Make me," he shot back while glaring at me, causing my face to crack its stern exterior, revealing underneath the amused half smile made by his careless comment.

"Pfft, so forward. Are you like this with all the ladies?" I snickered, reaching one hand up to unclip the bow tie and unbutton the few buttons by his collar.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said seizing my hand before it could continue on. Gripping it harshly, unknowingly.

"Cut me a break, no one else is up here. Go nude for all I care, it's not anything I haven't seen before," I replied monotonously, slipping my hand from his with minor difficulty. He didn't say anything, only looked down at me with something akin to harsh understanding. I turned away from him and strode to Patrick's old room, pulling open the door while fully ignoring the sign on the door, unknowing that I would find a hyper active three-year-old and his twenty-eight-year-old mother lying on the bed.

"Amai Oji! Amai Oji!" Daichi practically screamed, scrambling off the bed and practically launching himself onto my leg like an excited puppy.

"Oji! Do I look like a man to you, you little monkey?! Call me Oba! Oba!" I told him, prying him from my leg and lifting him up by his armpits so I could look him in the eye.

"Baa baa. Obaachan!" he said lifting a small, chubby arm to point at me.

"Obaachan! I'm thirty years too early to get that name!" I told him, faking anger as I swung him high and low, receiving bouts of childish laughter from him as I walked into the room.

"Oji! Oji!" he cried, pointing behind me. I looked and saw Shizuo standing in the doorway looking slightly unsure of what to do.

"Shizuo, come in and say hello," I told him, turning my attention back to the smiley three-year-old and his slightly exasperated mom. "Momo-chan, this is my boyfriend, Shizuo. Shizuo, this is my nephew, Daichi and my elder brother's wife, Mononoke-chan," I said, introducing them both while I balanced Daichi on my left hip.

"What's her name?" he asked, his brows knitting together in confusion. Understandable since it was neither common nor rare for a person to have that name. Well, except for that girl in that anime movie…God I hate Erika and Walker right now.

'_Still can't believe they tied me to a chair and forced me to watch it. Last time I ever mention my sister-in-law to anyone with an anime addiction.'_

"My name's Momo-chan," she replied, a petite smile on her face as she revised her introduction.

"My brother Patrick is an accountant for various businesses. He met her around four years ago at one of them," I continued, blatantly ignoring his confused expression.

"My family owns a small store downtown. We sell mostly books, lucky charms, and Black Magic talismans and ingredients," the same small smile in place. In reality it was probably the most frightening smile I had ever seen. Excluding Izaya's of course.

" What do you sell?" Shizuo asked her, like he hadn't quite heard her right.

"Books and lucky charms. You really should get your hearing checked, Sweetie."

"Ah, umm, anyway…you're still pregnant Momo-chan? I would have expected him to be out by now," I said, looking worriedly down at her bulging stomach.

"He's just shy, that's all. Doctor said to just wait it out naturally."

"So why are you and Daichi-kun here? Where's Patrick?" I asked her, setting down Daichi before going to the closet, pulling the doors open so I could rummage through the things there.

"Patrick suggesting taking Daichi to see August. Cheer him up a bit, you know?" the comment grabbed Shizuo's attention, the clear injustice registering in his good/bad radar.

"He made his pregnant wife come all the way out here alone?" he asked, rough voice displaying his disapproval clear as crystal

"My idea actually. I figured everyone here is experienced in birthing small mammals. Plus they're much closer then the nearest hospital if I stay here for a while," she replied with nary a gap.

He sighed heavily though his nose, his eyebrows scrunched together in silent worry about her choice. "I have a doctor friend here with me. He can help if you…you know," he said glancing down and away from her protruding belly.

I took a random shirt and pair of jeans off its hanger, stooping down to grab a pair of old boots on the ground, shoving the lot into Shizuo's unsuspecting hands, making him fumble with the bundle a bit, looking at me with mild curiosity. "We'll leave you alone for now, Momo-chan," I told her, taking hold of Shizuo's bent arm and dragging him out the door with only a 'thank you' thrown in our direction.

He didn't say anything until he got down to the second floor hallway and the ladder to the attic was sealed back up again, and when he did speak, it was in a harsh kind of tone that I was fairly used to. "What the hell's you problem?" he asked me, eyes scrunched in annoyance. I turned away from him and opened the baby-blue bathroom door, directing him inside with a simple careless wave of my hand.

"Can I help it if I don't like you whoring out Kishitani-san's talents?" I asked him as soon as he closed the door behind him, leaning my back against it.

"I wasn't doing that, I was just offering her help," he said from inside, a quiet rustling sound the only indication that he was changing.

"Yeah, well…are you done yet? I'm under the impression that men don't take as long as women do, but me and my roommate are clear examples that that stereotype is false—!" I fell backwards into the room, the unknowing person inside, catching my deftly despite his own surprise.

"You sound jealous," he remarked, setting me back upright, his bartender clothes folded neatly over his arm, albeit they were slightly wrinkled—probably because of me.

"I'm jealous of a lot of things. Don't let my tone, face or words fool you," I rebutted, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles in my faded jeans and worse-for-wear t-shirt. I chanced a glance at the outfit I had blindly picked out for Shizuo and quietly thanked my subconscious for giving him something that at the very least matched and fit—albeit, it was a bit snug. "So…I'll make a quick cheat sheet for you and Kishitani-san. Wait here for a second," I told him, walking past him towards my shared room, passing the bedroom of my snoring older twin brothers. Ducking into my room, I quickly stole one of Sora's notebooks and pens, turning to a blank sheet and jotting down a small list of things to avoid around my various relatives while they were around. I tore out the sheet and turned towards the door, only to jump in surprise when I saw Shizuo leaning against the door frame, looking from Sora's forest green half of the room…to my own pink and yellow flowered side. "Don't judge me. I was a naïve and stupid twenty-year-old," I said, holding the paper out for him to take.

"I didn't say anything," he responded taking the sheet from me in exchange for his clothes, skimming it over before folding it up into his pocket.

"Yeah well, never sit next to my aunt, or let her walk behind you. That's about the best advice I can ever give you. Now go interact and socialize. I need to catch up on my sleep," I told him, pushing against his chest slightly so he wouldn't be within the vicinity of my room. I didn't know whether it was because of his sad puppy face, or his lingering eyes as he turned away from me, but it made me tug on his short sleeve, catching his attention as he turned back to me. He bent down slightly, a feather soft touch just barely covering my lips before they were pressed more firmly against mine when I pulled on his collar, wrenching him further down as I stood on my toes, pressing my body against his as he wrapped his arm around my waist before pulling away.

"Tease."

"You would know," he rebutted.

"Touché," I smiled, pecking him once before letting go of his wrinkled collar. He let go of my waist and took a step back. I did the same, his clothes tucked under my arm as I took hold of the bedroom door.

He turned to leave, yet before he could I felt the need to do one last thing before he left me to sleep. "Hey, Shizuo." He paused in his step, inclining his head in my direction, his familiar blue shades halfway raised to the face. "I'm sorry for being so secretive before. I have a lot of issues I need to deal with this week. Just know that it's nothing you did wrong."

"Yeah, no problem," he responded, sliding the blue glasses onto his face.

"And…thanks for following me up here. Don't let my attitude fool you, it meant a lot to me."

"Yeah…" he said nothing else as he turned away and walked down the stairs. The last thing I saw of him before he disappeared completely was the tips of his pink ears. I smiled softly and closed the door, taking a moment to hang his clothes up on one of the spare hangers in my closet before practically falling into my bed and plummeting into a dreamless sleep.


	42. Chapter 42: No One's Business But My Own

—Karin has entered the chat room—

Setton: Good morning.

Karin: Hello.

Kanra: Karin-chan! Where have you disappeared to?

Karin: A place far away from you.

Kanra: (T_T) So mean~ Karin-chan~

TarouTanaka: It's been quiet. It's almost eerie.

Karin: Why's that?

Setton: Yeah, it's been quiet since yesterday. Well…as quiet as it ever gets here.

Kanra: AHHHHHHHH! That's it! Heiwajima Shizuo disappeared yesterday!

TarouTanaka: He disappeared?!

Setton: He didn't disappear. Maybe he's just…

Kanra: Maybe he died! (*o*)

Karin: He didn't die, idiot.

Kanra: How do you know that? Maybe you know where he is?

—Private Chat with Kanra—

Kanra: Do you know where he is, Amai-chan?

Karin: Even if I do, why should I tell you?

Kanra: He's with you, isn't he. Isn't that grotesquely sweet~ there for you in your time of need?

Kanra: Or maybe he's taking advantage of your weakened state.

Karin: Go to hell, Asshole.

—Exit Private Chat—

Karin: Ah ah~ he's disappeared then~ Wonder where he's gone? (^^;)

—Private Chat with Setton—

Setton: He's with you, right? Amai?

Karin: ! Who the hell are you? Are you someone I've beaten up before?

Setton: No no. It's me, Celty.

Karin: ?

Karin: (O-O) no way. Seriously?!Woah!

Setton: Yeah. So anyway, how are they doing? Shizuo hasn't…you know…

Karin: Within the first hour here he got shot with tranquilizers. Didn't do a thing though, physically I mean. d(^-^)

Setton: WWW

Setton: Besides that, everyone's getting along?

Karin: It's annoying how well Kishitani-san get's along with everyone.

Karin: So far everyone's either amused, weary, or on friendly-ish terms with Shizuo.

Setton: ?

Karin: My family's pretty weird. I think the only people who piss him off are my uncles and two of my six brothers.

—Exit Private Chat—

Karin: Gotta go guys. My peeps call for my attention. (^_^)/

—Karin has left the chat room—

I flipped the phone shut, slipping it into the pocket of my shorts as my Aunt Senri stormed down the hall and into the lobby, stopping in front of the row of vending machines before angrily kicking one of them. My aunt, like my mom, was scary when angered and extremely flirty despite being married—although, then again, she did marry the second biggest flirt in town besides herself. Sometimes I wondered how my little cousins would turn out—physiologically damaged or heavily influenced—but then again they're five, seven, eight and twelve and the only interests caused from the opposite sex is the interest in getting cootie shots.

"So, what are your thoughts on the "family"?" I asked her, rummaging through my other pocket and extracting from it a handful of coins.

"They're impertinent, disrespectful bastards that wouldn't know loyalty if it bit them in the ass," she stated angrily, kicking another vending machine with her four inch heels.

'_How can she walk in those?'_ I thought to myself, feeling my own feet hurt as I looked down at the strappy nightmares. I guess I could understand given our height similarities. The only difference being that she was a few centimeters taller than my five foot three self.

"I could have told you that. Easily. Three times fast even," I said, sliding a hundred yen coin into the vending machine she hadn't yet kicked. _'Black tea, green tea, herbal tea, oolong…well this day is going down the pipes…so let's go herbal.'_

"Ojou-sama, loyalty's basically what they're all about. I mean, I can understand why they would treat _you_ this way since you basically abandoned them seven years ago, but me? I've been running this show for five years, by all right's it's _me_ who should be sitting on that…well it's not a throne, but it's pretty damn close!" Aunt Senri said crossing her arms and leaning her shoulder against the vending machine.

"I didn't 'abandon' them. I just felt that my abilities weren't cut out for a Yakuza lifestyle," I explained, sorting through my handful of coins for another hundred yen.

"You mean being violent, head strong, and an overall bitch to everyone you meet doesn't fit the profile?" she asked me, plucking a hundred yen coin out of my hand and slipping it into the slot.

"I'm not a bitch to everyone. Just the ones that piss me off," I told her before sliding one last coin into the vending machine. She reached across and pressed the button for the black tea, taking no note of my irritated face as she bent down and retrieved the drink from the slot. While she cracked the cap at the top and took a drink, I reached into my pocket and retrieved three more coins, putting them in the coin slot while I blocked her body with mine, keeping her from pressing another button for an option I didn't want.

"Either way, you don't have their respect. Their full respect anyway," she said, sneaking her arm through a gap between my body and the machine in an effort to make me waste my money—money that I seemed to be giving away by the handful lately.

"Is that why they call me 'Ojou-sama' in the same mocking way you do?" I asked her, pressing the option for herbal before she could hit the one for green.

"I call you that out of love, they do it out of spite and pettiness," she answered taking another long drink from the bottle.

"Tch, I remember a time when I came here as a kid with Mom and they would practically trip over themselves when they greeted us," I said snidely taking a sip from the bottle.

"So, deep down you're still a Yakuza princess," she commented, chuckling into her bottle.

"Damn straight."

"And yet, as they pointed out, their boss is Sakuchi-san now," she replied, her normal alto-level voice dropping an octave in bitterness. She looked down at the room connected to the hallway leading to the lobby we were currently in—the lobby itself was a mediocre front for this place, a business of illegal things that moonlit as a delivery company. It was gramps' idea to create a front for his "family" but it was Mom who made it a legitimate business for extra cash. Not to mention that the company itself worked with Dad's business so the travel fees were always taken care of.

"Like hell he's their boss! Their boss was Sofu-san and Sofu-san alone. When he got died, that job went to Mom, and when she got sick, he was only supposed to be a temporary substitute!" I exclaimed loudly, causing the receptionist at the desk across from us to look up, shocked by the sudden raise in volume.

"By that logic it should be you on that cushioned chair," she murmured into her drink, a sly smile peeking out around the edges of the bottle.

"Yeah right. I've already got a life, it just doesn't include being a gang leader," I snorted walking away from her towards the balcony overlooking the street below and—consequentially—a certain blonde-haired bartender-turned-bodyguard.

"Remind me again why Shizuo had to come with us?" I asked her, leaning over the railing to see him leaning against the concrete wall of the building.

"'cause of the thing that happened yesterday," she answered vaguely, following me out to the overhang to see what I was looking at.

"When I said 'remind me' I meant tell me in, like, explicate detail. You know, I wasn't exactly awake for whatever shit went down," I added, remembering the mixed emotions that were circulating around my various relatives several hours after I hit the sack.

"Pft, Ojou-sama, you don't wanna know," she snorted laughingly, as if there was some inside joke I wasn't 'in' on. Something I didn't want to know? What the hell would _that_ entitle?

"I've seen him rip lamp posts out of concrete, bend steel with his bare hands and get pissed at random people because of the smallest things. There's nothing wilder than that that I haven't seen already," I calmly explained to her. Really, if someone else said it they'd either be saying it in disbelief, astonishment, or just plain recounting to their friends what they had seen several minutes before.

"So I guess getting in a screaming match with Carney over the mispronunciation of his name would be normal to you?" she asked me, her eyebrow rising in slight disbelief and curiosity.

"Please. He gets mad whenever people call him "Shizu-chan"," I scoffed at her, leaning my lower back against the railing so I could talk to her face-to-face. "Well, not really 'people' per se. It's mainly just this guy he hates and me. But in Shizuo's defense, the guy's a total dick, and I just do it to bug him."

"What about taking that old bull of yours by his horns and flipping him into the fence?"

Wait…he did what?

"Son of a bitch that guy is tough!" I exclaimed, my aunt taking my surprise for a whole other reason.

"Yeah I know the man's got strength!"

"No, I meant Hunter. He was flipped like an omelet and doesn't even show it," I explained, trying to figure out how an eleven-year-old bull was thrown into an old wooden fence and showed no sign of injury apart from probably a bruised ego. Then again, there might be some internal stuff we don't know about, but from the way he's been walking around all normal-like, it's probably nothing serious.

"You have weird priorities, Ojou-sama," Senri said, taking another long drink, looking over at me with disinterest when I objected to her continued use of my old-fashioned name.

"Stop calling me 'Ojou-sama', I'm not a fourteen-year-old kid anymore and I'm certainly not taking over this business, or lifestyle, or whatever it is! I am simply and forever "Amai" to you."

There was a soft upturn at the corner of her lip as she raised her hand to rest against the side of my face, clawing her fingers into my hair in a sort of tangle as she leaned in close to my ear and whispered to me, "You can convince me all you want, I'll probably start calling you "Amai-chan" like Tarou does in a couple a' hours, but the Family will still be fully convinced that you're taking leadership. Better make it clear who is and who isn't in charge before the wake tomorrow. Meaning: you take action as soon as those doors open at the end of the hall." She let go of my head, disentangling her fingers from my hair as I looked at her harshly—not out of anger or hatred or any of that—just out of sheer understanding that I had to act professional around these types of people. These people were like Shiki: deadly serious and just plain dangerous, and despite knowing the older members personally I wouldn't be given any slack since my blatant disregard for the "family business". Really, if I hadn't up and moved to Ikebukuro I probably would have either taken that school physiatrist job alongside Hikaru or helped out Dad around the farm.

"I know how to play serious—"

"Do you know how to _get_ serious? It means for the next hour or so, you have to rule them with words alone unless they actually challenge you for supremacy. So don't screw it up," Senri said, punctuating each word with a rough poke to my chest with a single sharp fingernail.

"I got it, Aunt Senri, I'll make sure you're still the reigning queen," I replied dismissively, turning away from her to rest my elbows on the steel-colored railing, watching wearily as Shizuo looked down at the shadow my small body cast from the mid-morning, early-noon sun, turning slightly to look up at me with narrowed eyes—probably because of the glare from the sun. I was more than three stories above his head, and yet I felt like I could easily reach down and touch him. Really it was the thought of being taller than him for once that made a girlish giggle rise out of me and made me raise my free hand up in a small wave. He didn't return it, choosing instead to look away from and back towards the various people moving around him on the sidewalk. Understandable since we've been here for over an hour with no results to speak of.

"Hey, I'll be right back." I turned away from her and walked back inside, heading towards the stairs.

"Should I call you when they finally open the doors?" Senri said stopping me at the doorway, not even glancing up from her nails.

"Yeah, sure, send me a message," I said flippantly practically running down the stairs two at a time—something I probably shouldn't do given the last time I had done so. When I got down to the ground level, I found Shizuo leaning against the glass storefront window of a shipping company—also a business under my Mom's family's influence. Knocking against the glass I caught his attention, making him look back at me in slight confusion before it transformed into recognition. Still smiling, I brought my bottle up, shaking the contents from side to side while I silently asked if he wanted any. He stared at me for a second longer before turning back to the passing pedestrians. Smirking lightly at his actions, I pushed myself off the glass and exited the building.

"Want thome?" I lisped teasing him lightly after what I had heard about yesterday, waving the bottle between our faces. He glared down at me before swiping the bottle from my hand, uncapping the bottle and downing half the contents. I smiled contentedly before leaning back against the glass beside him, my head hitting the glass with a dull thud.

"So you heard about yesterday?" he asked me a few minutes of silence later, the bottle's edge a few millimeters from his bottom lip.

"Yeah."

"Are you mad?" he asked me sounding like he had done something wrong. I wasn't exactly thrilled that he and Carney had gotten into a screaming match, the extent of which probably had them brandishing metal weapons, and if anything I thought it was just plain stupidity that led to him throwing Hunter into the fence.

"Surprisingly…no. I realize that Carney's lisp was probably what triggered the fight, correct?"

"Yeah…Shinra explained it to me a few minutes later," he elaborated, handing back the bottle to me.

"So what was your reasoning for throwing the big, black bull into the fence? I'm assuming of course that he was inside the pen?" I asked him before drinking the rest of the fluid, thinking childishly of an "indirect kiss".

He turned away from me, resting his own head against the glass. "Your cat," he said simply, like that was enough to satisfy my question.

"What about him?" I asked confused.

"It was in the pen and when I went to get him the bull started charging me."

'_I wonder if there was anything I could have done to prevent it…nope, nothing come to mind,'_ I thought aimlessly, the conversation—or lack thereof—stopped there since I had no more questions about his actions yesterday. He however had a few I would rather not bring up.

"Do you really have a tattoo?"

"Tch, yeah. And it's not on my ass if that's what you're thinking, it's on my lower back," I clarified, annoyed that my Dad brought it up in the first place. Why the hell had he brought it up? Maybe he was just trying to feel out how far the relationship was. Something me and Shizuo should probably discus among ourselves. Which reminds me…

"Hey, what where the questions my dad asked you," I asked him, wondering what in my Dad's mind he could have possibly asked him about.

"Can't say," he said to my disappointment, making me push off the window in a huff and stand in front of him with my hands on my hips.

"And why the hell not?" I asked glaring up at him, the sun in my eyes both helping and annoying me.

"You're not ready."

What the hell did _that_ mean? Before I could answer however, life—being the general bitch it was—decided to hit me in the head with an F.F.O.: Falling Fucking Object.

"Oww! What the—" I shouted, clutching the top of my head where the F.F.O. had hit me. Rubbing the sore spot I watched as Shizuo bent down and picked up a plastic bottle off the ground.

"Message in a bottle?" he asked no one in particular, walking out from under the shade to stand beside me in the sun, looking up at the balcony where my psychotic aunt stood fluttering her white-tipped fingers.

"Not that kind of message!" I shouted up at her, swiping the bottle from Shizuo's hand, and prying open the top, extracting from it a slim piece of paper with a single sentence scrawled across it: They're here.

"Tch, shit. I gotta go back up." I turned to go but was pulled back by my arm, making me tilt backwards for a second before righting myself.

"Why are you dealing with these kinds of people?" he asked me fingers digging into my arm either because he didn't want me to go into a Yakuza hideout, or because it was an unconscious reflex.

"After today I won't have to," I told him, gripping his fingers with mine as some sort of reassurance—mixed of course with the sweet desperation of prying his fingers off my arm.

"But why deal with them at all?" I stopped my fidgeting to look him straight in the eye, giving him something I could only name as a 'stupid smile'.

"Because they're family, even if most of them are assholes." After that he let me go, muttering something that sounded like: crazy, girlfriend, and a smoke. Never minding the latter part of the muttering, I left him with the promise of a lunch date and walked back inside the building, climbing the three storied back up to the Organization's headquarters. In the center of the room, my aunt stood by herself. Short, light brown hair swept away from her face, lavender-colored pantsuit pressed to perfection.

"So tell me, how do you plan to buy lunch with no money?" she asked me, all the while walking towards me, only to stop beside me and wrap an arm around my shoulders, smirking at me.

"I'll think of something. Luckily I have about an hour to think up something," I told her, shrugging off her shoulder.

"How about you let me take him out for lunch. You know, keep him occupied while you calmly tell every asshole in that room that you're in charge and are handing over your control and leadership to me, and that if they don't follow your orders, you'll bash their heads in with a metal bat, douse their carcasses in alcohol and set their worthless selves on fire." There was so much of my mom's personality in her younger sister that it was almost scary. _Almost_ being the word used here. If it were my mom she would have been a lot more calm and composed and used a lot more violent and vivid imagery.

"Fine, fine, I got it already. Storm the castle and all that. Listen, just take him somewhere small and I'll pay you back later, minus the three hundred and fifty Yen you owe me for the drink," I told her before walking into the spacious room, turning to face the two middle-aged men in dark gray suits standing at the mouth of the hall.

"Ojou-sama, you can come in now," one of them, a stout man with steel grey hair whose name I remembered as Ueno-san, said.

"I _can_? I _can_ come in now? I've been waiting here for an hour and I _can_ come in now?!" I said to him, my voice rising with each word. He backed down immediately, shrinking in demeanor despite my small stature. The second man, however, only puffed up his chest in annoyance, glaring down at me like I was some insolent bitch.

"Listen you little brat," close enough, "I don't know who you think you are, but you better not act like that when you're in Sakuchi-sama's presence," he stated impudently, waggling a single digit in my face. The thing about fingers is, well, they're just so damn fragile. My first example would be when I broke three of my fingers when I tripped down the stairs in my apartment building last year. The second example would be right now, when I grabbed his finger and bent it backward, breaking it at the knuckle before taking his wrist and arm and flipping him over my shoulder, causing him to fall on his back. Senri stood by the stairwell, one hand on the door frame and one foot on the first step down, as she chuckled humorously at the display in the middle of the room. The receptionist had stood up in a rush, her jaw dropped and her hands rushed to her face in scantily-clad horror at what I had done. Ueno-san simply stood off to the side, an anxious expression on his face as he looked from me to his buddy.

"I'm sorry, why don't you rephrase the last…Ueno-san, how much of what he said should he rephrase?" I asked him while the man on the ground groaned in pain, clutching his hand to his chest as he rolled over onto his knees.

"I-I'm sorry Ojou-sama, he's new to the Family, he didn't know who you are," Ueno explained, not moving a muscle to help the man on the floor.

"Then I should remind him." I raised my leg and pushed against his shoulder with my foot, making him rock back on his heels and fall back on his ass with another groan. "My name is Amai Tachibana. Daughter of Yasuko Tachibana. Granddaughter of Yasutora Tachibana," I said, almost like it was practiced, before sitting down with a dull thud on his stomach, reaching around to my back to bring forward two sheathed weapons. "_I_ am _your_ boss, _bitch! _No matter how new you are to this Family, you should still remember the names of this Family's former leaders. As well as this Family's crest. Correct?" I asked him, smiling impishly down at him while he looked up at me with slight fear, my mother's katana and my own—never been used mind you—held in front of his nose, the orange blossoms stamp imprinted on one side of the sheaths.

"I-I-I'm so sorry, Ojou-sama. I forgot myself," he groveled.

"See that it doesn't happen again," I told him, frowning, before standing up from his body. Behind me I heard a slightly gravelly voice call out from them, followed by heavy footsteps walking down the wood paneled hallway.

"Ueno! Masaki! Why haven't you brought her in yet?!" Sakuchi yelled, his heavy feet stopping at the mouth of the hall, face splotchy and uneven as he seemed to vary between being out of breath and bitter anger at my presence. "Tachibana-kun, I see you've taken care in teaching my men proper manners," he spoke, gesturing for Ueno-san to retrieve the so-called "Masaki", pulling him up to lean against him before walking past the two of us towards the meeting room.

"Yeah, but I see it's just the one's you hired who have no manners," I shot at him, removing the katana straps from around my body and tossing them both to Senri who caught them deftly.

"I'll go occupy your boyfriend while you take care of this. Good luck Sweetie~," she called over her shoulder, a lazy wave thrown in my direction as she descended the stairs, the swords lying against her shoulder.

"Don't let her actions fool ya, she can be a very frightening person when she wants to be."

"I'm sure, I'm sure," he said, sounding more pleasant and compliable than his demeanor suggested.

"Let's get your dismissal with over with, shall we? My Aunt is only too eager to get this "family" back to its former glory," I told him, raising my arms up in a lazy stretch, the edge of my shirt riding up my stomach before I pulled it back down. Ahead of me I heard Sakuchi mutter something that sounded a lot like "fuckin' brat" as he led me down the hall, but I disregarded it, chalking it up to him being upset that the position he had held for five plus years was being taken away. Honestly, I was surprised he hadn't done something yet.

"AH! Wait, hang on, I gotta ask Senri where she's taking him." I turned away from his large back, speed walking back down the hall and past an empty reception desk—the occupant having probably taken a lunch break—and walked out to the overhang, leaning over the side as I looked for the familiar blonde head I had grown accustomed to seeing close to everyday. I found him in the same place I had seen him before—directly three stories down from the balcony

"HEY! SHIZUO! Shizuo, up here! Yeah, my Aunt Senri is going to take you out for lunch for me but I'll meet up with you guys in—Hey! Flirty bitch! Stop hugging his arm and pressing your breasts up against him! You've got a husband and he's got a girlfriend! I.e. me!" I yelled at them, my tone changing from a pleasant informative voice into a pissed off yell.

"You snooze you lose, Sweetie!" Senri called up already pulling Shizuo down the street and away from me.

"Hey! Wait!" I shouted, leaning further over the railing in a poor attempt to make her wait. The next thing I knew there were shouts and screams and a briefly upside-down world. When I dared to open my eyes I dreaded my decision immediately. Below me dozens of people stared up at me, some pointing, others had dropped their jaws in horror. Really, the only bright side to this situation was that Senri stopped dragging Shizuo away. Below my dangling feet, I saw her tug on Shizuo's borrowed shirt sleeve and point up at her. From what I could see of her face, she looked absolutely livid. In contrast Shizuo looked conflicted…between annoyed and mildly confused.

"Amai, what the hell are you doing?!" he shouted up to me, one hand cupped around his mouth like I couldn't hear him without it. Briefly I looked up to see where I was exactly, finding that my hand had curled around one of the bars from the balcony. My hand had probably grabbed it unconsciously when I fell over the railing, or rather, when I was pushed. While I had been leaning far over the railing I was, in no way, in that precarious a position since my feet were still firmly planted on the concrete. Yet it made the smallest push on my back all the more easier to knock me off my feet. Really, had it not been for my reflexes I would have gone careening off the side of the building and into the street below.

"Dangling for my life. What are _you_ doing?" I retorted, reaching my free hand up to grab another bar so I could double my chances of living.

"Do you want help?" he asked me, one hand tucked inside his pocket.

"No, I'd rather dangle precariously by my arms until they eventually grow sore and drop me to my imminent death," I said sarcastically, glaring down at him while he walked, apparently not in too much of a hurry, to the building entrance. My aunt followed behind him in a little more of a rush, pushing past him to get up the stairs. While they took their sweet time climbing the stairs, I contemplated who in their right mind would try to kill me. Well first of all, there was no fool here in a yellow bandana, no gangsters whose illegal dealings I had accidently interrupted, and no Yakuza from my family would dare try to assassinate me because of their code of honor. That left only insolent bastard, and it didn't take a genius to know who it was because had he been successful it would have meant a semi-permanent position as Family Head and a double funeral for my family. Those were two things I could not and would not stand for.

A couple minutes later I saw a shadow looming over me and when I looked up I saw the somewhat disappointed face of my aunt, her short, light brown hair fanning out around her head in the light breeze. "You didn't follow my directions, did you," she said, stating it like it wasn't a question.

"I did what you told me to do!" I said incredulously, irritated that she hadn't yet attempted to pull me up.

"Props to you but never show your back to the enemy!" she started leaning over the edge of the railing but stopped, thinking better of it she straightened back up and looked behind herself. "Heiwajima-kun, there's a man called Sakuchi-san in the room down the hall, be a lamb and drag him out by his ears," she said sounding oddly polite. I couldn't see him, but from what I heard of his footsteps, it seemed that he was following Senri's direction, albeit with somewhat heavy footfalls and a low grumbling voice. Somehow I felt that he'd be doing a little more than dragging him out by his ears.

"It wasn't like I wanted to be pushed off the railing," I told her as she grabbed one of my hands and pulled me up. When my heels hit the stone of the balcony, I balanced myself on the small ledge my back to the building while I slowly inched myself over the railing. Behind me I heard the unmistakable voice of my boyfriend as he entered the room, a loud bang resounding through the silenced room as the door hit the wall and a single question rang out.

"Geez, you sound like you've never been almost killed before," Senri said, wrapping two iron-like arms around my waist and shoulders. Behind us, I heard Shizuo speak to the man responsible for my almost death.

"You think you can just get away with pushing someone off a railing? Huh? _HUH?!_ If you you're going to almost kill someone _then you better not complain when they do the same thing!_"

Senri took hold of my arms and dragged me over the rail and onto my ass subsequently falling back with me, just in time for a figure to go sailing over our heads and through the window of the building across the street. Ominous footsteps resounded behind us, and a figure's shadow loomed dangerously over us. I looked behind us and saw Shizuo's tall figure standing above my aunt. Reaching down, he grabbed our collars and pulled us up.

"More than I expected, but the results are about the same. I'm impressed," Senri said, fixing the collar of her pant suit.

"Really? 'Cause I'm pissed that I don't get to knock his block off myself. But I guess I'll settle for physical trauma." I looked back towards the building smiling with satisfaction at the large hole in the glass and the twitching lump of fabric that lay just behind it. I felt a hand on my wrist, and a harsh tug pulled my attention away from the injured man to Shizuo.

"Come on, where leaving," he said, pulling me away from the balcony and towards the stairs. I pulled against him, making him look back at me annoyed and all the more determined to leave. Ignoring him, I turned towards the meeting room at the end hall, satisfied to see that most of the higher-ups were present and accounted for.

"Out of curiosity, does anyone here object to my Aunt Senri becoming the Family Head?" I asked them. Most of them shook their heads immediately while others were more so hesitant, shaking their heads only after glancing at the man behind me. "Feel free to take over here, Aunt Senri," I said, looking happily back at her before looping my arm around Shizuo's.

"Where are you going Ojou-sama? A little alone time with lover boy~" Senri cooed, smiling suggestively.

"I owe him lunch and you owe me money. Hopefully both of these will be repaid today," I muttered before walking down the stairs with Shizuo, leaving her and this business behind me.

"Where are we really going?" he asked me after we got outside, sirens blaring around us as various people pointed towards the man-shaped hole. In the undertones of the faceless noise, I heard the telltale sound of a police siren and an ambulance.

"There's this ramen place I used to go to a few blocks from here. But first we should hit the convenience store for band aids. I think something cut you," I surmised, watching as a bead of blood made its way down Shizuo's arm from a long scratch below his shoulder. He briefly glanced at it; barely shrugging like it was nothing to worry about. I agreed, but that didn't mean I was going to just leave it alone.

"So those guys, they're your family?" he asked me, changing the subject.

"Sorta, more so they're my Mom's family's family. More like acquaintances really. Now that you mention it, I kinda lied before," I told him before walking with him into a nearby convenience store.

"About what?"

"About today being the last day I'd deal with them. Tomorrow's the wake so the higher ups in the family will come to the house to pay their respects. And the day after they'll attend the funeral," I explained to him while moving through the aisles, picking up random hygienic for us to use.

"Tomorrow, huh?" he said quietly.

I looked over at him, gauging whatever emotion he was currently processing and found none distinguishable. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and responded in kind. "Yeah, tomorrow." I took the few things I had picked out and set them by the cashier, digging through my pockets for the coins I had and placed them on the counter, only to have them scooped back up and placed back in my hands. Wordlessly I pocketed my meager change, watching as Shizuo pulled out a few bills and placed them on the counter, picking up the few medical supplies and leaving the store with me in tow. He stopped abruptly just outside the door making me almost run into him, I looked up at him confused, but he neither turned to face me nor acknowledge the fact that he was blocking the path—something of which he was probably doing intentionally.

"Can I come tomorrow? To pay my respects?" he asked me, inclining his head yet enough so that I could see his face.

"Of course, I don't see why not," I said without a moment's hesitation, not quite sure what he was getting at. He seemed to nod in understanding before walking away.

My boyfriend was weird. Plain and simple. These words did not describe him. Simple might've if you knew him well enough. Half the time I had no idea what he was on about, and the other half differed between complex and simplistic. This time seemed to hit the middle.


	43. Chapter 43: Part One: The Problem

"_It's not your fault."_

So they tell me.

"_It's her own fault, now she's paid the price."_

So he says—that fucking Eskimo coat-wearing bastard.

"_It's the stress; it's my reliever."_

So she told me whenever I asked her to stop.

"_I was the worst one out of them all."_

So I—and anyone else who knows me and my family—tell myself.

"You are the worst one, 'cause they're right y'know. They are _all_ right."

I don't need some bitch telling me that.

"You have that ear-pulling trick and know how to use it. You've been using it since you were a first year in middle school!"

I know when I started using it you stupid bitch.

"So how come you didn't use it more often?"

Because I needed the release after _it_ happened.

"Most people find more creative ways to relieve their anger and frustration."

Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly the most creative when it came to anything besides injuries and insults.

"You're so full of excuses. When are you going to grow up?"

That's rich coming from you.

"Why is she dead, Amai? What caused it?"

The cigarettes of course, what are you a dumbass? Last time I checked I wasn't a dumbass.

"Whose fault is it, huh? Whose fault is it that she's dead?"

It was her own fault, she choose it over and over with each puff of acidic smoke she inhaled.

"_Why is she dead, Amai?! Tell me whose fucking fault it is that she's dead!"_

…mine.

I breathed in deeply refilling my lungs, like the air in them had been suddenly pushed out by a great force. Only in reality I had just woken up from a nightmare. _'A nightmare, huh? It really is a nightmare being yelled at by myself, especially when I make such a great argument,'_ I thought dully, staring up at the ceiling. The only sound I could hear was the snoring of my little brother in the bed across from mine. I'm sure if I were to look at him right now I'd see a trail of drool on his chin and a baby chick—a gift courtesy of Hikaru—nestled snuggly between his hand and his collar bone. Trailing my eyes down the ceiling and over the walls, I stared blankly at one of the yellow sunflowers by my head, absentmindedly counting the petals while I waited for sleep to once again take over my mind. Unlucky for me, after the seventy-third petal on the eighth sunflower I found that I was more awake than ever. _'Maybe it would've been better if I had been counting sheep instead.'_ I sat up, my blanket falling down into my lap as I looked across and saw what I expected in Sora's bed. _'Such a sweet kid makes me wonder what kind of man he'll become,' _I thought sidetracked, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and glancing at the alarm clock, seeing that the time read two forty-seven AM. I stood up a bit shakily and after regaining my footing I crossed the room, closing the door behind me before grouping blindly at the walls.

"_It's not your fault."_

I looked behind me despite the darkness only to realize the voice was in my head.

Yeah, they can keep telling me that it wasn't my fault. That her habit was of her own volition and all that shit, but not my fault? Don't make me fucking laugh. Patrick had his tricks and gadgets but he never stirred up trouble in school. The only problems Kichiro and Colm caused were womanizing and poker games respectively. Sora's a no brainer; and Kazuhiro's only problem was his cheat sheet scams for mid-terms. Which leaves only me and Carney, but if I had to measure by detentions, suspensions and all-or-nothing fights, then I take the cake in teacher visits and crazy ideas while Carney wins by just being crazy—case in point: fighting his girlfriend's cousin's gang at a rival school just for fun.

I turned back forward, following the wall to the end of the hall and waving my hand through the air for the rope that would pull down the step ladder. There was a sharp tap as the ladder made contact with the floor and I heard a small break in snoring from Colm's and Kichiro's room before they settled back into their sleep. I quickly climbed the ladder and pulled it up behind me, crawling on my hands and knees to the guest room door. I didn't bother with knocking because no person in their right mind would be up at this time, so I just reached up and turned the handle, letting myself into the room. I looked around the near-empty room briefly, expecting to see a lump of a body curled up on the cot my Dad had dug out from one of the storage rooms, only to see it empty save for a small satchel Shinra had conveniently brought with him.

"A…mai? What are you…doing here?" a gravely and very tired voice asked, making me turn my attention towards the body occupying the bed.

"Huh? Oh, sorry I woke you up. Hey, where's Kishitani-san?" I asked Shizuo, squinting at him though the darkness. He moved to prop himself up on his elbow, raising his other hand to either rub at his eyes or at his head—maybe because of some late-night headache caused by my late-night visit.

"He's sleeping on the couch. Something about it being better than the cot," he answered. From what I could see in the darkness he was lying back down, his face turned towards me. I felt doubtful that Shinra up and left because the couch felt better then the cot, but nonetheless I let it slide. "Why are you up here?" he asked me, watching as I stood up from all fours and stretched my back as I yawned widely.

"I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. And my brothers' snoring didn't help me any. Mind if I crash up here?" I asked him.

"Yeah, sure," he murmured rolling over in the bed, his back now facing me. I walked to the side of his bed and pulled back on a corner of the blanket that was covering him, sliding one of my knees onto the mattress before he turned his head to look at me, speaking his confusion.

"Why don't you just sleep in the cot?" he asked me, propping himself back up on his elbows.

"You're going to let me sleep with you anyway so just move over." He looked at me like I was weird, and when I realized what it was a rolled my eyes at him—not that he could see it—and said, "You know what I mean, can you…can you please let me sleep up here with you?" he hesitated before sliding back towards the wall, making some room for me in the bed. I smiled happily at his compliance and slid my other leg onto the bed, sitting down beside him and tucking my legs and body under the blanket while I turned on my side facing away from him. Over the sheet I felt his hand on my hip pulling me backward, his front pressing up against my back while his arm wrapped around my waist.

"It's hot," I said after a few minutes. His quiet breath on my neck gave me no insight as to whether or not he had fallen asleep, and I didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed if he did. But when he spoke up a few seconds later, I felt my mouth turn up a bit.

"Yeah," he said, his arm tightening even more around my stomach. Under the sheet his chest pressed tighter against my back, and I felt his legs rub against mine. "What are you wearing?" he asked me, his voice unintentionally husky, thick with sleep probably. Yet, what kind of person would I be if I let this golden opportunity pass me by?

"Usually people say that when they're on the phone. And usually when they're alone and have their pants down around their ankles," I joked, turning to look over my shoulder at him, seeing his mildly annoyed face.

"No, it's just…" he trailed off, not quite sure how to put it.

"Short-shorts and a tank top," I answered him, turning in place to face him fully, the arm wrapped around my waist lessening its' grip.

"Isn't that too light?" he asked me, his hand on my hip over the blanket while my own two were placed against his chest.

"Like I said, it's hot. It's not like you're one to talk either. You feel completely nu—no, wait, you are in fact wearing underwear down here," I surmised. I had run my hands down his chest and stomach, seeking to prove a point only to be caught in an incredibly awkward situation when my hand came in contact with a semi-hard bump. I sincerely thought to myself how I had not felt it before when I felt him stiffen—his whole body, not the part in his pants mind you.

"Move. Your. Hand," he said through clenched teeth. Slowly, like I was dealing with a potentially dangerous animal, I let go of the stiffening bulge, trailing my hands back up his body until they were on his shoulders.

"Don't do that again," he said, a bit more composed than before—most likely because I was no longer palming his junk. Truthfully I didn't expect to go down that far, but before I knew it my fingertips felt cloth and my hand felt something else entirely. And actually…I didn't want it to end here.

The hand on my hip pushed against me, moving me away from him by some slim margin. I narrowed my eyes at this and silently made a decision. If that was how he was going to play, then I was going to enjoy the next five to ten minutes. "Why not?" I asked him, gripping his shoulders more securely and scooting myself closer to him, taking care not to touch his…"Special area" with mine. At least for now that is.

"You know why." I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled at him amused.

"Tell me why," I whispered, tilting my head up to kiss his jaw before brushing my lips against his. "C'mon, Shizuo. Tell me why." I nipped at his lower lip before pulling away from him, smiling up at him playfully while he just looked down at me pleasantly perturbed. From what I could see in the near darkness—the minimal lighting being courtesy of the small window and a wispy cloud-covered moon—there was a certain look in his eye, something I could only describe as heat. He smashed his lips against mine, proving what I saw to be true, and moved them in a fervent way that showed how frustrated he was.

I loved it. I loved his roughness and inexperience as he sucked on my lip and bit it. I loved the heat that came off his body as he pulled me closer to himself, his hands flat on my back as one traveled north while the other traveled south, following the curve of my spine and moving over the swell of my hip. His hand paused there and his mouth ceased all movement. I opened my eyes and looked up at him confused while he disconnected his lips from mine and looked down at me, a sliver of frustration near visible on his grim face.

"We can't. That's why not," he said, his hands slipping from behind my back, coming up to grip my wrists and unlock them from around his neck—something that took minimal effort on his part despite my forcing them to be like steel bars.

"Don't make it sound like some second-rate forbidden romance. How can you stand it?" I asked him as he forced my hands in between our bodies, sandwiching them between his hands and chest. "I mean, how can you physically stand it?"

"I don't deserve it."

"Don't do that. Not when the moment is so good," I told him, leaning upward to kiss his chin and jaw line. He drew away from me—I was beginning to lose count of how many times he had done that, not to mention that it was pissing me off. "Tch," I scoffed at him, throwing my earlier decision—not to touch his arousal—out the window and wrapping my right leg around his left hip, pulling it snuggly against me and locking him in place before turning sharply onto my back, pulling him on top of me, his arms supporting most of his weight. His surprise morphed into quiet fuming as he glared down at me, clearly upset at what I had done. "Tell me what you are, Shizuo."

"I'm a man."

"You're a man in need. You want it—don't try to deny it, the physical evidence is clear." I flicked my gaze downward before moving it back up to his eyes. He sneered at me, fingers digging into the mattress on either side of my head.

"Not here, Amai. Not now." Damn it.

'_Damn him and his reasonable judgment!'_ I thought bitterly, sobering up.

"…that…stands to reason," I consented, un-wedging my hands from between our chests and bringing them up to cup his jaw. "But…when, Shizuo?"

He looked away from me, shaking his head out of my grasp and leaning away to sit on his heels, his legs straddling my upper thighs. "…we've only been dating a month. It's too early."

"My roommate's been dating for two, and he was having sex from the get-go," I reasoned, folding my hands across my belly and tilting my head lazily to the side.

"That's different."

"How? Granted he should keep it in his pants sometimes, he still has a great relationship," I told him, omitting the part where last week Naoki-san figuratively strapped a boot on his genitals. The upside was that I didn't have to have second thoughts whenever I sat down on the couch. The downside was that he was taking on a more than personal interest in his co-workers' love lives—mine and Tamamura-senpai's included. "Shizuo, the social norm is after three dates, and you know what? We've been on seventeen."

He didn't answer beyond huffing noisily, a hand leaving the mattress to run messily through his hair in mild exasperation. I felt my face soften at this and when I talked I heard my voice sound so unlike myself. Like it was my Mom talking instead of me. She always did have a softer way with words than I did.

"I'd like to know that the physical part of a relationship is somewhere in our future together. And I'd like you to know that I am not a porcelain doll—fragile and easily broken. I can understand that this is neither the time nor place, but the next time something like this happens—" I jerked my leg upward, rubbing my knee up against his crotch and making him groan and grip the sheets beneath us, "I won't go easy."

He glared down at me before removing himself from atop my legs, moving back to his side of the bed. "Is this the reason you woke me up at four in the morning?" he asked me, rolling onto his side and away from me.

"No, just a series of events that started with a nightmare," I murmured turning from my back to my side, facing away from his as well.

"You had a nightmare?" he asked voice alert, I felt some shifting behind me so he had either rolled onto his back or at the very least he turned slightly to acknowledge me.

"If you want to know, I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now I need to get some more sleep so I can get through the next fifteen hours," I said after a long yawn, pulling the blanket up over my shoulders. He grumbled some before shifting again, back still facing inward. Let me say this at least once: I don't like pity, I don't like douche bags who take advantage of others, and I sure as hell don't like being vulnerable. That said, I suppose it didn't hurt to have a few interspersed moments of vulnerability now and then—mainly now.

"If I asked real nicely, would you turn and face me? Just so I know you're not mad at me?" I didn't get a response—not that I expected one. I rested my head back on the pillow and shut my eyes, imagining the sheep I should have been counting before only to be interrupted when there was another shift on the bed and an arm wrapped around my stomach once again.

"Try anything and I'll toss you out the door," Shizuo said, his breath ruffling the hair by my ear. I smiled and retreated back into him; his slow, even breathing lulling me into a dreamless sleep.

_DRRR!_

"I understand…I understand…I understand. Look the wake is today and the funeral is tomorrow. I'll probably be back at work on…Wednesday," I said before a series of semi-high pitched shouts rang in my ear. "Yeah, I know it's a long time but my Dad needs the stability and frankly I need a small break to reassess my hearing ability."

"_Amai-tan, we're stretched thin here! You know that! I need you here. Bad attitude as it is, you bring in thirty percent of our lesbian clientele."_

"Gee, Akira-san, doesn't that make me all warm and tingly inside," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes unbelievingly before setting them on the window over the kitchen sink, looking out of it to the group of six or seven children—six of which were my cousins—crowded around Hunter's pen.

"_It's not set in stone, is it? You can't come back Monday, or Saturday. Please come back Saturday. You _know_ how busy it is on Saturdays,"_ he said trying to reason with me.

"I'm sorry but I can't. If it helps any, I'll work free for the next two weeks," I bargained, knocking on the window with my knuckles and making a "knock-it-off" gesture at them—something that only the eight and under crew took seriously. The remaining three—nine, twelve and fourteen—went back to their dumbass-ery.

"_Not good enough! You've gotta sweeten the pot, Amai-tan, or I'll give the five-to-twelve shift to Mikamoto-kun."_ Like hell am I gonna let that egotistical, flashy bastard have the Sweet Shift!

"Fine! Fine you nosy, transgender bastard! If you let me come back Wednesday…I'll tell you about what happened last night. I'll even let Taka-chan hear about it secondhand," I said, thinking back to last year and the "scandalous" piece of gossip within Taka-chan's inner circle that he had had the misfortune of hearing secondhand.

"_What?! What happened last night?!"_ he shouted enthusiastically, _"Does it have anything to do with the cute, blonde man you're dating?"_

"Ah ah ah, promise me I can keep that timeslot and I'll tell you all the dirty details." My smug smile slowly vanished from my face when I saw my Uncle Tarou's kid duck under the new metal railing encircling Hunter's chosen territory.

"_Fine, fine you can keep your shift and come back on Wednesday. Now tell me what the hell happened!"_

"Shit, Akira-san, I'll tell you about it later. Right now I have to deal with Atsushi-kun." I hung up on him, a single, bitter protest cut short as I walked quickly to the door leading to the back yard. As the door slammed shut behind me, the younger children swiveled their heads towards my fuming form, surprise marring their faces before they ran away from the offending scene and into the house. The twelve-year-old, Satou, gave me a cautionary smile before picking up Daichi and following his five-year-old sister and seven-year-old brother into the kitchen. The remaining sibling, the eight-year-old, stayed behind, her back facing me as she climbed onto the fence. "Kimiko! Atsushi! Get away from there! What are you, suicidal?" I asked them, gripping the back of the dress of my other female cousin and lifting her from the railing while Atsushi gleeful retraced the two feet worth of steps he had taken towards an unaware bull.

"Amai! So great to see you! I mean, the circumstances are less than desirable of course. I mean, I'm sorry for your loss. Our loss. Well mainly your family's loss since she was your mother and your father's wife. But since she was our aunt, too, it's our loss as well. So—"

"Atsushi, you're rambling again," Kimiko said annoyed, kicking her heels this way and that as her way of telling me to let her down. Ignoring her, I kept my attention on the fourteen-year-old boy in front of me.

"Where are your parents?" I asked, directing my question to the both of them.

"Kimiko's parents are in town and my parents are sitting together in the living room making your dad feel uncomfortable," Atsushi elaborated, taking Kimiko from my grip and setting her on the ground. Once her feet hit the ground she took off like a rabbit, darting around the edge of the house and around to the front yard to do god-knows-what.

"If you want to, we can go together to ease the tension," I offered, slipping my hands into my back pockets while he fidgeted nervously with his hands. He shook his head, clearly agitated with the thought. A corner of my mouth turned up before I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him with me to the back door. "Come on, I know the perfect food to ease our agitation," I told him, pulling open the door and letting him step inside before me.

"It's not some weird combination from Ireland, is it?" he asked me, his nose scrunching up in distaste under his long bangs.

"If you think mashed potato, minced lamb and assorted veggies all combined into a delicious pie is weird, then _you_ are the weird one," I commented, making him sit down at the small kitchen table before going over to a foil wrapped glass container.

"You're sure I'll like it?"Atsushi said looking concerned at the shepherd's pie as I set it down in the middle of the table and cut off a square, placing it on a plate and setting it before him.

"Better than the black pudding. But if you really want to switch…" I said trailing off while I thoroughly enjoyed his confused expression. "Pork blood and oatmeal." He gave me an even greater grimace before experimentally poking the potato crust and breaking off a piece.

"Don't knock the motherland's food, Kiddo. It _will_ bite you in the ass." He stared at me for a few seconds, fork poised over his pie piece despite not holding any pie.

"You're…unusual."

"I've heard worse, but go on."

"You're mom died two weeks ago and here you are at her wake, smiling like it's just another day," he clarified.

I set my fork down and gave him what I assumed to be a serious expression. "I reread in an old psychology book I dug out of my closet that there are five stages of grief. From what I can estimate, I'm between depression and acceptance."

"Wouldn't it take longer for that?" he asked me, looking at me with a kind of sad desperation. I stood up and leaned over the table, ruffling his dark-brown hair before telling him that I had been going through this kind of thing for months. He looked down and scooped a piece of potato and lamb into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully before looking up at me. "It's not that bad. I guess."

I smiled at his hesitant statement and shoved another forkful into my mouth, munching happily. We stayed like this for a good while: him eating each bite hesitantly, me scarfing down a second piece in minimal silence. I'd say I wasn't lying, but I would be if I said the sudden interruption via a three, five, seven and twenty-four-old wasn't unusual to say the least.

"Shizuo…what up with the gaggle of short people?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow at the seven-year-old Jirou sitting on his shoulders, the five-year-old Hotaru tucked under his right arm like an American football and Daichi cradled in the crook of his left arm. He shrugged his shoulder, making Jirou lose his center of balance and lock his arms around Shizuo's head.

"You're surprising calm. Three kids hanging off you like little monkey's? Would've assumed that would make you irritated," I noted, watching amused as Daichi reached up and grabbed Shizuo's sunglasses, removing them with some difficulty and clumsily placing the stems on top of his ears.

"They're just kids, nothing to get angry at. Why does your brother keep looking at me?" he said his last sentence catching me off guard.

"That depends on which brother you are talking about," I said, my eyebrow quirking up again in curiosity.

"The one that looks like you."

"He's gay and you're good looking," Atsushi supplemented, taking a last bite of shepherd's pie before noticing our staring at him. Well, mainly _my_ staring. To my knowledge Atsushi wasn't gay or bi-curious. "What? I'm not blind and it's not rocket science," he said defensively, standing up from the table and taking his plate and fork to the sink.

"Atsushi's got a point. You are pretty good looking," I agreed, turning my attention from the fidgety fourteen-year-old kid to the loaded down twenty-four-year-old man in front of me.

"Which one is this one?" he asked, completely ignoring the small conversation he had originally started. I pulled out a folded sheet of notebook paper and, after unfolding it, held it up for him to see.

"According to the diagram he is Compoji's—my Mom's first younger brother's—son, Atsushi," I said, pointing out a line on the diagram that effectively mapped out my immediate family without hopefully getting confusing.

"Then who's the guy with the red beard?" he asked, leaning down to squint at the map and simultaneously offset Jirou's balance.

"That would be my Dad. Why do you ask?" I asked him, reaching high above my head to grab Jirou's mid-section and pull him from Shizuo's shoulders.

"Something about tension or something. He said you were a buffer," he explained for me, bending down further so I could efficiently detach my little cousin.

"No fair, Itoko-san. I was finally tall," Jirou pouted before distracting himself with an overly large plate of brownies covering a fairly large area of counter space. My outlet was funny that way: cookies when I'm nervous, brownies when I'm trying to avoid emotional issues, and cupcakes on my monthlies. I myself didn't want to know what cakes meant.

"Atsushi, you wanna join me in buffering the tension of Compoji-san and Mika-san?" I asked, trying to have him interact with his father more.

"I spend enough time in awkward Sunday dinners between Dad, Mom and Mom's boyfriend the "super stud". So no, I'll be skipping out on tension-buffering," he said bitterly, reaching over Jirou's head to snatch a brownie from the shortening pile. Sighing at his sad comment I made my way out of the kitchen and into the living room, leaving Shizuo to fend for himself with my cousins and relieve my Dad, and any other relatives, caught in the maelstrom of the awkwardness of a failed marriage. When I entered the room the tension was as thick as cow shit and twice as cumbersome. My aunts—as well as my Uncle Daniel's fiancée—stood near the window while my uncles stood opposite, the fact that it was a little after one did nothing to discourage the early drinking of several glasses of cheap wine and brandy. The only people either comfortable enough or tense enough to sit were my Uncle Tarou and ex-Aunt Mika, with my Dad sitting stiffly in between them—most likely to discourage any arguments or…brawls. It wouldn't surprise me if there were to be fights later on since Mika-san was a professional boxer.

"Dad, I am here to save whatever scrap of sanity you have managed to hand on to," I said, making various pairs of eyes focus on me in silent hope.

"Oh thank God. I mean…oh who am I joking. These two people are more tense than a man in his first colonoscopy. Please, just do something while I check on Mononoke and that doctor friend of yours," he said, standing up from the couch and turning a stiff back on the room that could only be described as an icebox. While he walked upstairs with quick footsteps, I leaned over the back of the couch, sticking my head between the both of them.

"So, I see you guys are talking like always," I commented, referencing the fact that neither of them had probably said so much as a word of pleasantries to each other in the last two months. No one said a word, the only break in silence being the small chuckle coming from Tarou-san on my left.

"How was that funny? She was mocking you," Mika-san said, turning her penetrating glare on him.

"Actually no, I was—"

"It was a comment from my hard-nosed sister's kid. She has about the same sense of humor as her at that age," Tarou-san reasoned, a half-smile gracing his face as he looked between the two of us.

"Really? Because—"

"Then you're sister had a bad sense of humor." Somewhere inside me I heard a snap, not literally of course, if there was an internal snap I'd probably be in pain. No this was somewhat of a mental snap at the smallest of insults towards my Mother.

"Bring it on you cold hearted bitch!" I shouted, straightening out of my leaned over position, putting up my dukes in a threatening manner.

"Like you're one to talk. What would your mother say if she knew you were picking fights during her funeral?" she said, somehow having the nerve to ask me such a question.

"She'd hope I'd break your nose. No wonder Mom hated you; you are so mismatched for Tarou-san."

"Pft, well that's obvious. I'm surprised our marriage lasted as long as it did," she stated, standing up from the well-worn couch to face me with her arms crossed.

I crossed my arms and addressed her as well. "Well you know what?"

"What?"

"You know what?"

"What!" she shouted.

"I am so glad my nerdy, geeky, lanky uncle got full custody," I said, making her jaw drop in obvious rage as she glared fiercely down at me. Somehow I had singlehandedly turned the room from an icebox to Antarctica with a single sentence. While this stare down continued, the doorbell rang, once, twice, a third time. On the forth ring, no more than five minutes later, Shizuo's voice rang out loud and clear through the deafening silence. "_Will someone just answer the goddamn door already?!_"

A few seconds later my Dad came trudging down the stairs, glancing briefly at the tense crowd, somehow understanding the situation before opening the door for whoever was on the other side. What I heard made my blood run cold and my heart beat erratically. Despite my body yelling at me not to, I turned towards the door anyway, seeing the man responsible any nightmare before last week.

"Mr. Macneil, I'm here to talk to you about your son's behavior at school…but it appears that I've come at a bad time," Suzuki said peering inside my home like an outsider.

"One could say that. But…my wife was always about hospitality to others in her home, and it's my duty to uphold her values after her…her…passing. Please come inside and pay your respects, we can talk about Sora afterwards," my Dad said, stepping aside for him to enter, not that he needed the invitation to enter since he would undoubtedly do it anyway. Suzuki stepped inside, looking around at the gathered people before settling his gaze on me. The small smile on his face was enough to infuriate me and make my blood run hot through my veins. The only person that could have possibly chilled my blood walked in at that moment, stopping in the entrance to the kitchen and addressing me verbally.

"Who's that?" Shizuo asked me, his rough voice somehow bringing me back into reality.

"Hell. That's Hell."


	44. Chapter 44: Part Two: The Solution

"Margaret! Don't be rude to our guest. Now, I know he wasn't exactly your favorite teacher—no offence there, Mr. Suzuki," Dad said, closing the door behind the gray-haired man. Suzuki took a step inward while I took a step back unconsciously, silently berating myself before retracing the step.

"None taken, I completely understand," Suzuki said, flicking his eyes around the room before settling them on me again.

"What he said was an understatement. And I'm not surprised that you're not offended," I said bitingly, lip sneering up in disgust. He watched me amused, like I was a child explaining to an adult how the world worked.

"I see your temperament is the same as ever, Amai-san," Suzuki commented, an easy going smile plastered on his face as he slipped his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"I doubt everyone's temperament stays the same after several years. Tell me, are you still using the same disciplinary techniques as eight years ago?"

"I haven't had any need to since then. I find that detention just wasn't the same without you. I hope there are no hard feelings of course." That pinched a nerve. Why did I have to deal with this today of all days, with this…I want to say person, but he barely qualifies as one. And yet I had to be reminded that he was, in fact a guy, in the sense that he had a dangly thing between his legs—a fact I had unfortunately been witness of. The fact that I had to be reminded of this by my own boyfriend made the pinching feeling all the more irritating.

"Hey, Amai, who the hell is this guy?" Shizuo asked again, his annoyance clear in his voice—possibly the result of having his question answered half-assed. I turned my head to regard him while not once taking my eyes off of Suzuki.

"He's my former high school teacher, and it appears that he's as much of a douche now as he was back then," I told him, earning a sharp glance from my father and a slight narrowing of the eyes from Suzuki, his constant, laid-back smile drooping down a bit at the corners. Good, the more insults I can throw at him without having to be put in a twenty-four cell for battery the better. Shizuo didn't say anything more besides sending me a questioning glance and an aggravated expression. "Maybe more so even."

"Margaret," Dad said in a warning tone. Why couldn't he see it? Was it impossible to perceive how much I hate this man? How much I hate, loathe, and despise his arrogant, self-satisfied guts. Because it seemed to me that the only person in this room to understand that simple fact was the man who was responsible for it himself. "Más rud é nach féidir leat a imirt deas, dul ar ais go dtí an chistin. Ní bheidh mé go bhfuil tú disrespect riail órga Yasuko ar. Ní lá atá inniu ann,"( If you can't play nice, go back to the kitchen. I won't have you disrespect Yasuko's golden rule. Not today,) he said harshly, his green eyes hardening.

Play nice? If play nice meant setting his worthless ass on fire or throwing him down a ravine, then yeah, I could "play nice". But since to him it had an entirely different meaning, I made a scoffing sound and scrunched my face up in a disgusted expression. "Inis dom cad a dúirt do mháthair faoi aíonna," (Tell me what your mother said about guests,) he added, walking around Suzuki to stand before me, leaning far down to say it quietly in my ear, so his brothers—Malcolm and Daniel—couldn't hear him.

"Ní gá duit a imirt cothrom," (You don't play fair,) I said quietly back, glaring past him at the gray-haired bastard.

"Dhéanann aon duine, stóirín," (No one does, Sweetheart,) he said, bringing his hand up to ruffle my hair like I was child again. If I remembered correctly the last time I was here, he made a point of telling me that I was the same height as I was in middle school.

I sighed to myself, thoroughly defeated and thoroughly pissed off. Mom's rules were absolute; the only ones allowed to break them were Mom, Dad, and guests who got pissed at each other. "Tá Cuairteoirí as teorainneacha. Is cuma cé mhéad de asshole bhfuil sé,"(Guests are off limits. No matter how much of an asshole he is,) I said, reciting it word for word like it was from a rulebook. The weird thing is it's not a phrase; there actually is a rulebook in a drawer somewhere.

"Good, you're free to stay if you play nice for an hour," he said, folding his arms across his chest and offering me a choice I wouldn't take if my life depended on it.

Making a sound that one could only equate to that of a small, angry canine, I turned and retraced my steps back to the kitchen. As I walked past them, my Dad's brothers and my cousin Mikhail—the only one of my cousins the same age as me—swapped money. _'Probably because they made a bet on the escalation of the awkward situation made by Tarou and Mika,'_ I remarked to myself while Shizuo followed close behind me as I walked into the kitchen, standing aside as I unstopped the door and let it shut on the somber party inside the living room. Turning the lock and re-stopping the door I turned to face the slightly smaller party of children sitting on the tile floor surrounding several emptied plates of brownies. "I'll give you each five hundred yen if none of you open this door," I told them, noticing that Kimiko had come back from wherever the hell she had disappeared to while Daichi slept like the little toddler he was on top of the kitchen table, a smattering of frosting on his face that all but avoided the blue sunglasses he had taken from Shizuo.

Shizuo walked over to the little-used table and slid the glasses from Daichi's face, slipping them onto his nose while I went over to the liquor cabinet and grabbed the first bottle of Jack I saw. When I turned around I jumped in surprise at the brown haired boy standing behind me, looking at me with disapproving eyes. "I'll give you a thousand if you don't tell Dad about this," I told Atsushi, holding up the bottle. He held up his hand, waiting patiently while I dug through my pocket and extracted a few coins, counting out enough to cover the bribing fee for the little twerps and then some. I didn't bother sparing Shizuo a glance as I walked past him and out the back door, not knowing whether or not he would continue following me. Personally I hoped he wouldn't since I knew my current self was fragile and unpredictable at best. Then again, I never was one to get in touch with my feelings. If I was lucky I'd end up bitching and cursing about the unfairness of it all.

So I strode across the lawn, casting a glance here and there at various things that stood out: darkened clouds rolling over the skies above, Hunter gone from his pen—either Carney or Kichiro had taken him inside to avoid the rain that was sure to fall, the pretty silver sedan peeking out from the left corner of the house—one I'd love to break and smash and destroy and just plain fuck up, the last thing to stand out was a bleak black umbrella and a bright yellow umbrella huddled against the right side of the building acting as a little dome of sorts for the people hiding under it.

Because I had no boundaries and didn't give two shits about anyone's privacy, I rudely tore away the black umbrella, revealing my gloomy brother and his bright and sunny girlfriend wrapped around each other in a sickeningly sweet lovers' embrace. "Hey, I'm going to my tree house. Give me a ring when things start getting serious," I told him, blinking listlessly at the blushing brown haired girl and the annoyed black-haired boy.

"You could have said that without freaking out Mamimi, Greta," Kazuhiro said, glaring up angrily at me while he fixed the collar of his button-up, rubbing a few smudges of lip stick off of his neck while Mamimi—the sweet girl—embarrassingly pushed Kazuhiro's hands off her upper thighs and fixed her skirt.

"If I'm not getting any, then neither are you. And shame on you for feeling up your girlfriend during a wake," I said, glaring down at him with equal ferocity. Although really, like I was one to talk since last night I was basically doing the same thing; the only bright side was that he would never know.

"I'm sooooooooo sorry, Amai-san! I just wanted to cheer Hiro-kun up and now I've made you maaaaaaaaad!" Mamimi cried with as much zealous as normal as she pulled herself up to her knees and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her crying face into my stomach. Awkwardly I patted her head and shoulders while as the same time tried to pry her off my legs so I wouldn't fall on my ass.

"It's okay, Mamimi-chan. It's not you I'm mad at, just my sardonic little brother," I assured her, noticing Kazuhiro scoff at the word "little" out of the corner of my eye. "But seriously, make sure he keeps it in his pants until next week at least," I whispered to her once I got her off her knees and off my legs. "If he keeps trying to put it somewhere, just pinch the top of his ear and twist hard."

"Oh, no, we weren't planning on going any further. Honest, Amai-san!" she smiled pleasantly while Kazuhiro sighed disdainfully. "I'll go find Setsuko-chan and make absolute sure that Carney-kun isn't making her do anything either!" she added with a determined look on her face.

"First of all, I'd like to point out that Kichiro was nailing some chick at Gramps funeral. And secondly, like you're one to talk. Don't assume that we're all deep sleepers just because we snore," he said grumbled indignantly, narrowing his eyes at me while Mamimi looked at him wide-eyed and confused.

"Ha. I'll give you that. But I severely doubt Mamimi-chan will do anything more after this little interruption," I shot at him before turning on my heel and walking away, taking the black umbrella with me as I left them to their own devices. If there was one thing my younger twin brothers had in common was their ability to do almost the exact same thing at the same time—it almost reminded me of Colm and Kichiro's ability to talk at the same time and scare the crap outta me, only, you know, less creepy. So there was a high chance that Carney and Setsuko were doing something similar somewhere else—most likely they were up in the rafters rolling around on the soft hay.

"I've waited this long! I can wait a while longer!" I heard Kazuhiro yell behind me before a small slap softly resonated through the air, all other sound that might've come out of Kazuhiro's mouth stopping altogether under Setsuko's hand as she pressed it hard against his lips. I dryly laughed at them before retreating into the swarm of trees lining the back edge of the small dairy farm. About fifteen or twenty feet into the forest, I unscrewed the cap off the bottle and practically drowned myself in the bittersweet liquid before continuing on, counting out the number of steps mindlessly until I reached a small river on step six hundred and twelve. It ran left to right and was no more than a foot deep; three dry rocks ran across the length of it, providing adequate stepping stones to the other side. It was a chill sight to my fire-encrusted body. Leaping from stone to stone I crossed the river, looking up briefly at the simple wood-and-Plexiglas tree house in an old gnarled tree before gripping the half-empty bottle in my right hand and clenching the closed umbrella between my teeth, grabbing the first wooden plank nailed into the tree. Behind me I heard heavy footsteps on soft grass as I took the first step and ignored them as I continued climbing upwards until I was well over twenty feet in the air when I hit my head on the floor of the box nestled into the center of the top of the trunk.

Reaching up, I set the bottle on the floor of the inside before and carelessly threw the umbrella inside before finding purchase on one of the outstretched branches that jutted out from beneath the flat base of the small house and pushed myself up, swinging my leg over the edge and rolling inward until I was flat on my back, looking up at dark gray clouds that rolled like silk over the once blue sky. Blinking slowly I brought the bottle of Jack to my lips and took another drink. It seemed almost perfect, the way the clouds had suddenly decided to darken and fill, swollen with water like they were about to give birth. Absentmindedly I thought about the fetus in Momo's belly, all warm and comfortable and unsuspecting of the violent birth it would have to endure, before being thrust into a world of uncaring people and sociopaths who just wanted to hurt you for their own sick pleasure.

'_Not everyone's uncaring though. You'll have you friends and family. And then when you're all grown up, you'll have a girlfriend, too, maybe even marry her and have a couple a' kids. Kids…'_

What was it about a bottle of Jack that brought out my more pensive and melancholic side? According to my big brothers alcohol always brought a smile to my face, and I knew somewhere on Colm's phone he has an incredibly clichéd picture of me with a tie around my head and a horrible blush on my cheeks from my birthday last year. The thought brought a smile to my face before it faded away as quickly as it had come. Directly below me I heard a loud thud and growl that brought to my attention the man who had followed me through the woods. Ignoring the instant slasher flick image that came to mind I called out a warning that if he hurt my tree house I'd kick his ass. He grunted as a sort of response and lifted his head up over the edge of the floor boards, narrowing his eyes at me, like he was asking what the hell my problem was.

"Me and my Mom built it. So I'd appreciate it if you cage the rage," I continued, looking at him out of the corner of my eye, my bright green meeting his blue glass tinted brown. "You can come in if you want, just don't break it." He stared at me another minute before lifting himself up into the tree house, standing briefly inside while he stepped over and around me. He leaned against the wall opposite the gaping hole that acted as a door and slid down the length of it, resting his head against the wall as he looked up at the Plexiglas ceiling. The tree house was roughly five and a half-by-six feet, so either way I could lie down easily and look up at the sky. When I was a teenager I used to come here on rainy days and cloudless nights, only because it was really beautiful to see.

"It's really beautiful on cloudless nights. Since we're pretty far from the city, there are a lotta stars in the sky. A whole milky way laid out like a friggin' map, like a picture in an astrology book. It's really beautiful," I told him, all the while staring up as rain drops began pelting the exposed glass. Whatever sunlight there was that managed to shine through the clouds was a darkish gray color, signaling that the coming rain would be a heavy one. He grunted in response, agreeing with me as he continued looking up. I took another drink, the bottle now a quarter full.

'_So fucking beautiful.'_

"I love the rain. Did I ever tell you that? No, probably not since it's been so fucking hot this last month, no rain whatsoever in the big city. It's just so relaxing, an' refreshing. And afterwards it just feels so cool on yer skin. Hey, what's your favorite weather, Shizuo?" I asked him, the alcohol beginning to slur my speech some and loosen my tongue.

"…sunshine," he said simply, hesitating a few minutes as he continued to look away from me, yet I could tell he was trying to figure out what the fuck was wrong with me.

"Yeah, I can see it. Just basking in it and soaking in the warmth. Like a big sunflower with its disk facing the sun throughout the day…" I trailed off before taking another drink, forcing myself into a seated position and scooting back so my upper back rested against the inside wall. "Hey, Shi. Zu. O."

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna tell ya somethin', and I want you to keep as calm possible. Understand?" I said glancing over at him, seeing his legs bent and his arms outstretched on top of his knees. "I'll let you smoke if it helps you any." I saw him glance over at me above the rim of his glasses before removing one arm from the top of his legs and reaching into his pocket, withdrawing from it the small white box. He shook it a few times, one of the slim sticks moving out from the package before he grasped at it with his lips, drawing it out and pocketing the rest before fumbling for the lighter. There must be something wrong me. No, I'm probably crazy. Maybe it was the small state of inebriation combined with the leftover hormones from last night that made me think that small action was incredibly sexy. Maybe I am crazy, thinking that him grasping a cigarette with his lips, like he was kissing a lover, was sexy.

'_Drunk is more like it,'_ I thought, watching mutely as he flipped open the lighter and sparked the fire, holding the flickering flame up to the end. It licked at the end before it started smoking, a thin trail curling up to the ceiling.

"Did I ever tell you about that guy? The one who…you know…did that to me?" I was watching him carefully, trying to tell him as calmly as possible. He removed the cigarette from his lips a few centimeters, gritting his teeth as he glared down at nothing.

"Yeah, what about that asshole?" he asked before inhaling another lungful of nicotine and exhaling it in a thick column of smoke.

"A couple months ago I felt like I got some sort of physical retribution. Feeling his cartilage break under my fist and his blood stain my knuckles…I know you don't like violence, but I honestly loved it. It was like I was getting a part of myself back since he wasn't holding anything over my head and I was free to act. But now…now I feel like it didn't do a damn thing, that I'm back at square one—"

"_What are you, a dumbass?_" he growled at me, the cigarette between his fingers now.

"Heh, if I am you better explain it to me nice and slow," I told him, smiling a small smile as I looked at him bemused.

"_You should've killed him dead! Killed him deader than dead! Just beaten him to a bloody fucking pulp!_" he yelled before slamming a fist down on the floor boards, shaking not only the wooden box but the whole damn tree. Lucky me this was quality wood.

"It's too late. Everything is just too damn late." My lips were loose and my mind was inebriated. Great, just fucking perfect. And now as I look at Shizuo, I see that he's just as pissed at me as I am; and really, I couldn't blame him. Right now I felt like one of those pansy's that spent half their time feeling sorry for themselves. Like a striking snake, his hand shot out at me and grabbed the collar of my blouse, pulling me off my ass and onto my knees.

"Stop sitting on yer ass and do something. Just go down there and kill him," he growled lowly, eyes blazing as he glared at me, "_Just go down to that school and kill him! Kill him dead!_" he shouted, making my ears ring at the close proximity. Although, that might've been the alcohol coursing through my blood stream.

"It wouldn't be any use going down there." _'Especially since he isn't there right now.'_ He snarled at me, like I was some two-bit punk who spit on him, thinking that I could get away with it.

"If you're not going to do it, then I will. What's this douche bag's name?!" he asked me, pulling me ever closer to him. If I couldn't smell the smoke before I could definitely smell it now, the acidic cloud of nicotine mixed with whatever aftershave he had used recently.

"Su. Zu. Ki," I whispered slowly, carefully, although I didn't really care if he completely lost it since I would probably revel in the pure awesomeness that was his rage. Looking down at him, I noticed his eyes widen a fraction of a millimeter before hardening into shards of flint. The grip he had on my shirt seemed to tighten even more so and his jaw clenched shut as he spoke through his teeth.

"The guy who kept ringin' the damn bell?" I nodded my head once, staring down at him blankly, coldly, like none of it mattered.

"And you're really not gonna go down there and beat the shit out of him?" he asked me, the hard edge still stuck in his throat as he growled.

"I'm bound by the rules set by my Mother. Even if he's the biggest douche on the planet, I can't lay a finger on him within the confines of the house," I replied in the dullest voice I had ever heard come out of my mouth. He let go of my blouse and pushed me away then, well not really pushed, it felt like more of a shove as the back of my head collided with the wall, but since the action itself had been so small looking and slight, I knew it wasn't on purpose. I looked over at him just to make sure though, and saw him take out another cigarette, putting it to his lips and lighting it up, inhaling a few puffs before taking it out of his mouth and regarding me seriously with an unnatural amount of calmness. Maybe it was the cigarettes, was there a brand of cigarettes that were made of magic nicotine?

"What kind of car does he drive?"

"Silver Volkswagen sedan, loves that thing like a second wife" I answered, "why?" I asked as an afterthought, although that should have been the first thing out of my mouth. He didn't answer beyond a quick "see ya later" as he stood up and walked to the open doorway—hunched over as he was because of the low ceiling—and leaned outside, glancing down at the dull grass and blue-gray water below before stepping out, or rather jumping down. Alarmed, I scrambled to the doorway and looked down, watching mutely as he straightened out of a crouched position and walked away like he was continuing his walk from before. "Crazy jackass," I murmured to myself, falling back on my ass from my knees and leaning back again against the wall, my legs outstretched on either doorway edge, the tips of my boots tapping a tuneless song against its sides.

'_He's right though, I shouldn't have just broken his nose…I should have just smashed his damn head in with my bat. Broken his legs and twisted his arms. He he he, dissected his guts and torn out his eyeballs. Ha ha ha. Cut his balls off with a rusty, dull-bladed knife and stuffed them down his throat. Ha ha ha!'_

"And then when he's all bloody and begging for mercy, I'll stop. And wait. Wait for the light of relief to appear in his eyes. And revel in its' dimness as I step on his throat. Ha ha ha hahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" I reveled in the imagination of his pain and suffering, my laughter loud and maniacal—another example of my mother's favorite phrase: Insanity is genetic, and the degree of it varies on lineage. I just had to wonder to what degree I was right now. Although as it continued it started to fade and diminish to a soft sigh.

"Yeah. You can make plans, but in the end the method changes and the end result differs. And I doubt I'll even get the chance to attempt a full-on revenge plan," I said aloud to myself, letting my head fall back so I could look up at the darkening clouds, sheets of rain falling like a heavy drape. "He should have taken the umbrella if it was going to be like this, but I guess he must be at the house already." A bright flash of lightening ran across the clouds like a white rabbit on a darkened hillside running from its predator. Thunder rumbled in the distance like a low drum roll before ending with a whip-like cracking sound, short and loud and so full of anger that it damn near brought a smile to my face. "So wonderful," I whispered, watching with content as the wind churned the trees outside and the rain along with it. A second shot rang out, and I looked for the next shock of lightening to run through the sky, only to hear instead a muffled crashing sound much like the ones before it. I took this to mean that the storm was moving on, although as I continued to look up, I found that the storm was the same as ever.

"No, that's not it. Something's…different. What is it?" I just couldn't put my finger on it. The storm was in full swing, and the animals were in hiding. The small river below was beginning to overflow a few inches over the bank and churn heavily. "What am I missing?"

It could have been the alcohol that dulled my senses. It could have been the thunder that masked his quick footsteps. And it _could_ have been the heavy rain that made his bright blue suit hard to see out here. But none of that did anything to explain the lack of shock that ran through me at the appearance of the thinned-out, gray head of hair that appeared over the bottom edge of the entrance.

"Look what the cat dragged in: a drowned rat," I said dully, tilting my head back as I swallowed another mouthful of whiskey. Swirling the liquid inside around as I regarded him coldly.

"Amai-san, I know that we have our…qualms, but I hope you're enough of a Good Samaritan to allow—!" A thunderous shot rang out in the surrounding forest and my former teacher looked behind himself in a worried-bordering-on-anxious manner. "Hide me! Keep that monster away from me!" he shouted, letting his calm façade slip on his face as he looked back at me with a panicked expression.

This fucking bastard. He actually dares to ask me for a favor? What kind of arrogant bastard is he?

'_Then again, if I were to look up right now, I'd probably see a rainbow's back end hanging over my head right now. Meaning, ha ha ha! This is the golden opportunity.'_

"Alright, I'll hide you, but I want you to do something first."

"Anything! Just name it before he kills me!"

'_He's afraid of Shizuo? That's not right. I should change that.'_

"Apologize."

"What?" he balked, looking at me like I had grown two heads and a furry-ass tail.

"Apologize. Apologize for every lusty look and stare you sent me. Apologize for every nightmare wherein you were the sole antagonist. Apologize for every foul feeling and disgusting fluid you sent into my body that day. Apologize for _raping_ me, and then I'll let you hide from him," I told him, staring at him harshly, coldly, not even turning my eyes away from him as I downed the rest of the whiskey.

"Alright! Fine! I'm sorry I did that to you! Now let me in before that monster finds me!" he said quickly, glancing behind himself once more as another shot rang out. I seriously wouldn't doubt if Shizuo was tearing out trees in his way instead of looking behind them, and throwing them away when he was disappointed.

"Heh. Heh heh heh. Ha ha ha AHA HA _HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_!" he looked at me like I had gone mad, and raised a thin eyebrow as if to question my sanity. "You know if you were the man I thought you to be, I might've believed that pathetic excuse of an apology," I said once my laughter had dwindled down and I was able to breathe properly again. "But you're not. And you know it's too bad, because either way you're eight years too late to start apologizing to me now." I stood up and walked towards him, smiling down briefly at his bewildered face before I brought my left foot down on the hand that was gripping the inside of the tree house. He let out a sharp cry, bringing up his other hand to try and pry my boot from his crushed fingers, leaving his balance and footing questionable. "And just one more thing: my boyfriend is _not_ a _monster_, he's a _man_. If you want to see a monster, take a look in the mirror, Asshole," I sneered down at him, bringing my right leg far back and throwing it forward with enough velocity to possibly—and hopefully—shatter his jaw, forcing him to fall backward off the makeshift ladder and down the twenty feet to the ground.

I looked down at his wriggling form as he struggled to force air back into his lungs, one hand cupped around his jaw. Smiling softly to myself, I bent down and retrieved the black umbrella I had brought with me, bringing it, along with the empty bottle of Jack Daniels, down the ladder with me. When I was no more than five feet away from the ground I jumped, landing near his sprawled legs. Smirking down at him, I dropped the umbrella by his side and stepped over him, kicking his arm away from his face and pinning it down with the sole of my boot. I squatted down and sat on top of his waist, pinning his other arm away from his body with my other boot. "You had a lotta nerve asking _me_ of all people for a favor." I brought the bottle in my hand down beside me, breaking it on the rocks that littered the nearby bank. "This is for thinking you had the right," I said between clenched teeth, raising my hand with the broken bottle neck high above my head before thrusting it down on his uninjured open hand, plunging the broken glass into his flesh and bringing forth the rich, red blood hidden within it. He screamed out in pain and agony, clenching his eyes shut as a pitiful way to relieve the pain while I smirked in pure bliss.

"Open your eyes. _OPEN THEM!_" I screamed, twisting the bottle neck as punishment until he squeezed his eyes open in narrow slits. "I want to see your fear. I want to see that look of utter desperation and misery as I pay back your dues, minute for minute, blood for blood." I smirked as he looked upon me in absolute fear, swallowing the lump in his throat before he spoke.

"Wha—what are you going to do to me?" he asked, his voice wavering.

"Lie on the ground. Just lie on the ground and let me take care of you," I said to him, smiling menacingly as I paraphrased what he had said to me all those years ago. Picking up the umbrella I had thrown aside, I removed the cap from the end and twisted the handle, a small metal knife, much like a switch blade, popped out of the end, its edge glinting dull silver in the minimal lighting. _'I'm so glad I took Kazuhiro's umbrella,'_ I thought gleefully, letting the handle and fabric rest against my shoulder as I brought the sharp tip down to press against the collar of his light-blue button-up. Before I could even begin my revenge, I was interrupted by the ceaseless ringing of my cell phone. Pausing, I retraced the blade and let it rest on my opposite shoulder before reaching into my pocket and extracting my cell phone, looking at the caller ID.

"Huh, wonder what he wants," I asked myself, flipping the phone open and pressing it to my left ear. "You've reached a pissed off red-head. How may I help you?" I asked Kazuhiro.

"_Hey, you told me to call you if things started getting serious or if shit started hitting he fan, right?"_

"That sounds about right. What's up?" I asked, pressing the phone between my ear and shoulder while I mindlessly played with the umbrella-blade.

"_Well, first of all Aunt Senri is gonna be here in half-an-hour with the guys, so Dad wants you back ASAP. And two…what was two?" _he asked another person on his end, making it a clear indication of his sarcastic self.

"_Boyfriend, car, teacher,"_ I heard Carney supply in sequence.

"_Oh yeah, right. Your psychotic boyfriend just trashed your teacher's car by throwing it into the ground—"_

"_Freaking awesome by the way. Kinda pissed me off that he destroyed a three million yen masterpiece though,"_ Carney interrupted, going from being impressed to being absolutely miserable, his emotions doing a complete one-eighty on the basis of his love of cars.

"Really? Wish I could've seen that," I replied, stabbing the umbrella into the ground, a square centimeter away from slitting his left ear. "Anyway, when Senri's guys get here can you direct them around to the back of the house? I have a small job for them in about…twenty minutes."

"_Sure thing, Greta."_ He hung up soon after leaving me to grin malevolently down at the frightened man while I pocketed my phone.

"Sorry about that. Now, where were we~?"

_DRRR!_

—Twenty minutes later—

It always seemed like I was covered in blood. The first memory I have of the sticky, red fluid was the first calf I had helped birth with Dad. The second was when I had gotten into a fight with my big brothers over a toy train. The next one was a small dispute with Yuki over something childish and stupid. There was a time in middle-school when I had punched out this bitch, Sara, and knocked out one of her adult teeth. From there it seemed that my whole social life seemed to be dyed the same color red as my hair as I kept up the all-out brawls and girl fights, the only colors that ever managed to peek through being from my friends and my family during the times in between. How I even managed to stay on the baseball team I still don't know, but I might owe that to Coach and my high batting percentage.

After graduation however, the blood drained from the everyday normalcy and color filtered back into my field of vision. Of course, after a few years of that, I screwed myself by moving to a city that seemed to bath in it every day, the only consolation being that none of the fights were personal—except for of course the case in which the douche bag in yellow kept trying to kick my ass and "teach me a lesson". Today seemed no different from the color I had experienced, the red on my knuckles as I repeatedly struck his face, the drops of blood that flew into my hair traveled in rivulets down my face before dropping back down to their person of origin. The adrenaline had long since burned off whatever alcohol was running through my system, and as my adrenaline began to run dry, so did my strength start to wane causing my arms to become lax and sloppy. Eventually they dropped down to rest harmlessly atop his abused chest, the words "manipulative rapist" written there in kanji. Behind me I heard a soft sigh and a shuffle of feet approaching from behind me. "When you think of the color red, what do you think of, Shizuo?" I asked, letting my head drop backward so I could see him—upside-down though he may be—my inebriated mind sobering up as the adrenaline drained my system.

He let out a plume of dark-colored smoke and looked up to the dripping sky as he regarded my question seriously. "I dunno. You're hair?" he said, making me smile a small half-smile.

"What about yellow? What do you think of yellow?"

"…the sun? What about you, what do you think of?" he asked me, watching as I stood up slowly from Suzuki's limp body, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths—hopefully he wouldn't die of blood loss. The last thing I needed this week was a murder charge. The assault itself would depend on if he wanted his precious reputation tarnished with a sexual assault on one of his former students from eight years ago.

"Sunflowers, like the ones on my bedroom wall," I answered before kneeling at the edge of the river and dunking my head in, scrubbing furiously at my face and hair with the chilled water to remove the blood.

"And red?" he asked when I flipped my head back out of the river, my longish hair slapping against my back as water ran down it, staining my already wet shirt.

"I don't really give it much thought," I lied, ringing my hair out. I walked back over to the limp man and pulled the black umbrella out of the ground, twisting back the handle and retracting the blade. While I looked around for the cap, Shizuo snuffed out his cigarette, putting the small white packet back inside his pocket before picking up something by his feet. He held it up for me to see and I took it and placed the cap on the end of the umbrella before unfolding it, holding it high above our heads. He took the umbrella from me and started walking, one hand tucked into his pocket, while I trailed along beside him, my own hands hanging by my sides uselessly.

We walked for awhile in silence, the only sound being that of the rain pattering harmlessly against the dome of the umbrella. While we walked, I started thinking back to an earlier conversation I had had with my younger brothers, one that had to do with Shizuo.

"Shizuo, what did you do to Suzuki's car?" He glanced down at me out of the corner of his eye and looked back ahead, slowing his pace slightly to match mine before he opened his mouth to tell me what happened.

Kazuhiro's POV~

Forty-five minutes ago~

It was all so annoying.

My sister was annoying.

This wake was annoying.

Even the rain I would normally revel in was annoying! And yet somehow, these things all combined into some hermaphroditic blob as Mamimi, Carney, Setsuko and I squeezed together under one achingly bright yellow umbrella. "You know, when me and Setsuko—"

"Setsuko and I," she corrected, interrupting him.

"When Setsuko and I," at this the black haired book nerd smiled softly, leaning back with her knees tucked up to her chest to rest against Carney's chest. '_Lucky bastard having his girlfriend between his legs_. _I feel like a fucking child,'_ I thought sulkily, folding my arms across my chest as Mamimi ran her long fingers through my dyed-black hair. "came out here we didn't expect it to rain. And we didn't expect there to be only one umbrella."

"Blame Greta, she took mine for God-knows-what," I answered, glaring up at the underside of the yellow dome.

"Think she knew it was going to rain?" Mamimi asked, pulling her fingers free of my damp hair to wrap around the upper part of my chest, pressing a soft kiss to the right side of my temple.

"Probably. She has a sixth sense about the weather. She's kinda like an animal." At this Carney and I started laughing at the thought. Imagining our older sister with a pair of red, furry ears on top of her head and long poufy tail was like child's play for us, especially since we've been assuming she hid them under her pants and hat for years.

"Be nice, that's your sister you're talking about," Setsuko said, chastising Carney before reaching up and behind her to roughly pull on his ears, making him look like a monkey for half a second before he grasped her hands and held them up and away from her, kissing the top of her wet head.

After that all conversation stopped and we watched the wind whip the trees, all the while the rain kept soaking those of us whose limbs ventured past the shelter provided by the umbrella. I looked over at Carney whose shoulder was pressed tightly against Mamimi's, Setsuko folded her legs tightly against her chest as the wind brought with it a swath of rain, it's icy touch threatening to wet her long skirt. I have no idea why Carney and Setsuko came out here, or even why we haven't yet decided to take shelter in the barn, or the shed, or even the cellar. In my opinion: the cellar smelled like mold and decay—something I would enjoy, but girls would complain about, and the barn was already overcrowded with black-and-white cows, plus a variable tempered bull in his own solitary cell. Kichiro and Colm were probably holed up in the hay loft, which explains why Carney and Setsuko are here—they probably got caught in a "compromising" position and got booted out for a cold shower. That left the shed: a four-by-six foot rectangular box Amai had recently painted a bloody red color. The only reason any of us had for not taking shelter in it was that there were rats all up inside it, which just meant that none of us were desperate enough to slum it out with them.

"It's wet," Setsuko said, breaking the rain begotten silence.

"What is? Your panties or the ground?" Carney crassly asked her, smirking when she glared over her square shaped glasses at him.

"Idiot. It's the ground! The ground is overflowing!" she shouted, standing up abruptly and putting her hands over her ass.

"Cripes!"Carney shouted following suit, attempting to brush out whatever invisible thing had stained the ass part of his tan slacks a dark brown. Mamimi and I followed suit, despite not having a problem with the ground as of yet, and looked at the grass where they had been sitting, or rather at the growing puddle of water coming out of the rain gutter beside us.

"Stupid, fucking rain gutters!" he swore, kicking at the metal tubing while the girls and I huddled closely under the umbrella.

"I wanna go inside, but I don't want to deal with the adults or the brats," I muttered, glaring at the trio of faces that were squished against the glass window in the kitchen, watching us with obvious delight and curiosity.

Carney crossed his arms and turned back to us, his dyed red hair dark and damp, and his shirt and pants absolutely soaked and sticking to his body. "Same here, I don't see why this thing can't be a private affair."

"It is private. August-san said friends and family only," Setsuko said softly, her voice just above the rain, as she leaned forward into the sheet of water and clenched Carney's sleeve cuff within her grasp, trying to pull him out of the rain. He shook of her hand and took a step back, turning his face up towards the sky.

"Ain't that just a damn shame. Huh, Ma? Ain't that just a damn shame!" he shouted, spreading his arms out wide and letting the rain drops hit his face with a _splat_ sound. "_Why couldn't it have just been the eight of us to wallow in hell?!_" he yelled at the thundering clouds while the wind whipped his hair from side to side, making him look like a regular madman.

"Cool your roll, Carney. They loved her just as much as we did. Now get out of the rain before you die, too, idiot," I sneered at him, handing off the umbrella to Mamimi, walking forward to meet him halfway.

"Fuck you, Kazuhiro. We both know some of us loved her more than other."

"Stop it."

"And those people in there…those people in there will never care as much as we do—"

"That's enough!" I cut him off, reaching forward and twisting the collar of his shirt towards me, "Now, you can say that type of shit anytime you want, but only say it after this is all over!" he reciprocated by grabbing my collar as well and raising a fist in warning, but I just narrowed my eyes at him, calling on his bluff. He might have been the brawn of our operations, and he might have been a Yankee, but he has never, and would never, lay a hand on me in aggression. That didn't stop him from twitching with anticipation of sinking his fist into something with flesh.

"Carney!" Setsuko said, her tone sounding less like a cry of concern or constraint, and more like a call of notice. Carney looked away from me, his black eyes flashing as he looked away from me to her. When he saw her looking behind him, he turned and sneered at what he saw, his upper lip curling in distaste.

"What do you think _he_ wants?" he asked, releasing my soaked collar as he watched Amai's "significant other" breach the edge of trees right behind the bull pen, hands stuffed inside his bartender's uniform—despite no longer being a bartender according to what Amai had told us—his shoulders hunched over and a damp cigarette hanging off his lips.

"Nothing from us, I'll tell ya that much," I answered as he went to walk past us, never pausing even when the girls moved to get out of his way when he walked straight to the back door. "Get under the umbrella before you catch a cold, idiot," I said, leaving them behind me as I followed him inside the house, curious as to what he was doing without my sister.

He briefly paused to open the door, glancing behind himself at me while I made up the distance his long legs had covered. I might not have been as short as Amai, Sora and Mom, but I was still quite a few inches shorter then Blondie. He turned back around and walked through the doorway, several of the small children inside called his name in affection as he walked through the kitchen but he bluntly ignored them, continuing on to rudely tear open the door leading to the living room—or more so rip it off its hinges. The people inside turned in surprise and watched as the black and white man strode through the living room and out the front door, leaving it to bang against the outer wall. I followed him a little more hesitantly, glancing around the room at my aunts—both current and future—, uncles, cousin and Father, sparing a slit-second glance at a gray-haired man I vaguely remembered as my old chemistry teacher.

As soon as my feet hit the porch I closed the door, the faces of my family looking out questioningly near clear through the window. After flipping them off, I turned my attentions back to the man who had blindly followed Amai up here and was now standing in front of the cars the people inside had driven up in. Leaning my shoulder against the beam holding part of the porch's roof up, I asked him what the hell he was doing.

"Which one of these is a silver sedan?" he asked, dismissing the two trucks and the minivan on his right side and looking more closely at a gray Nissan and a silver Volkswagen.

"Depends, whose car are you looking for?" I asked in response, shoving off the beam and walking down the three steps to where he stood looking anxious and annoyed.

"The pervert teacher's," he answered, slipping his sunglasses off his face and folding them up, placing them in his vest's inner breast pocket. I froze when he said that, looking back over my shoulder silently and seeing the gray-haired man, whom I had heard intruded into my house, standing by the window along with my Uncle Daniel and his fiancée, looking out with a quizzical expression. I turned away from them and regarded Shizuo once more, fighting to keep whatever fire that had previously burned in my chest a couple days ago at its normal small ember.

"Does this have anything to do with eight years ago?" I asked him making him look away from the cars in slight surprise, slight being a small raising of one of his eyebrows.

"Not all of us sleep so soundly at night. Sora and I are the only ones who have an inkling of what happened that night, despite being seven and ten-years-old," I explained, looking with hard eyes at the Volkswagen in front of me. "Are you gonna kill him?"

"I hate violence. And it's not my right," he answered, moving away from the Nissan and closer to the Volkswagen. I nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

"Are you going to destroy his car?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Turn it to shit," I said simply, turning away from him and walking back onto the porch, turning around in time with cell in hand to capture the next forty-nine seconds on tape. I'd never seen anything like it before. Like _him _before. Although I highly doubted anyone anywhere had seen it before. Because what person has seen a grown man lift a car with nothing but his bare hands, hold it for several seconds while he turned it and himself away from the house, and proceeded to throw it no more than seventy meters? It was insanity, it was ridiculousness, and it was pure awesome. The car flew well above the height of a normal person, even higher than my father despite his tall stature, and crashed with a thunderous booming sound that echoed off the trees like cannon fire in a cave.

The initial shook wore off after a few seconds, and the first sound that rang out was Suzuki's enraged voice as he mourned over the loss of his car. "You…you destroyed…my car. You destroyed…my car. YOU DESTROYED MY…car…" he started off with a pitiful, shell-shocked sentence before it turned into a shout, and ended with something above a squeak as the blond man, who seemed way too skinny to be throwing twelve hundred pounds worth of machinery around like it was a toy, turned his sights on him as he stumbled off the porch, his former bravado shrinking back as Shizuo uttered a single sentence that probably made him piss himself.

"Start running douche bag."

Present~

Amai's POV~

As Shizuo finished telling me what he had done just as we walked out of the shelter of trees, my mouth felt tingly, like it couldn't quite decide what it should do: frown or smile.

"You forced me to kick his ass. I don't know whether to be insulted or impressed," I surmised, looking up at him as he kept his eyes trained on the murky, white house in front of us. Above us the clouds raged on, and although the rain had long since stopped, Shizuo kept the umbrella above our heads, the only drips of water that now fell to the ground around our feet were from our hair and clothes.

He nodded in agreement, looking down at me out of the corner of his eye. "You weren't going to do anything on your own anyway. I just helped a little," he said, his hand brushing mine as we walked side by side underneath the umbrella. I grabbed his hand and held it tightly, watching as several men in suits walked around the corner of the house and headed towards us.

"Thanks for that. Did you figure out the loophole on your own or did you ask for help?" I asked him, earning a rough musing of my hair as he ruffled it, pushing my head away slightly in what he thought was a playful manner. Senri's guys soon approached us and as we talked I felt Shizuo's hand wrap tighter around mine, his animosity towards them all the more known through his constant glaring and their weariness of his presence. When they finally moved away from us and down the path we had arrived on, Shizuo's hand had tightened around my fingers and he was now pulling me faster towards the house.

"You know, if this wasn't my Mom's wake, this would be the forth greatest day of my life," I told him, slipping my hand out of his grasp and taking hold of the umbrella and swinging it down, folding the dome back into its multi-folded flaps, the rain drops that had managed to stick to the fabric finally falling to the ground in wet splotches.

"What are the first three?" I heard his voice ask me as we started walking once more towards the back door.

"Third is winning the baseball tournament senior year, second is the day my first nephew was born," I explained before a heavy hand on my shoulder stopped me in my tracks.

"What's the first?" he asked, looking down at me curiously.

I looked up at him with a sly smile and started towards the door again, his hand slipping off my shoulder as he stayed where he was, watching with growing agitation as stepped onto the two foot square of concrete that made up the stepping stone for the backdoor. I turned back to address him, my hands behind my back as I stood on my toes. "The very first time a boy I loved said he loved me." His agitation waned slightly and an expression like worry or anxiousness took its place.

"…when was that?" he asked with slight hesitation, moving towards me only when I beckoned him forward, and losing his agitation and doubt immediately after I had grabbed his collar and pulled him flush against my body, my lips pushing against his in a delicious mixture of heat and saliva.

"The day you kissed me on purpose and not to trip me up," I told him after I had pulled my mouth off of his and straightened his wrinkled collar before he could see it, "you know, like I did to you once or twice." With that we retreated into the house, a silent agreement to keep what had happened in the forest between the two of us and whoever else had the even the slightest knowledge of the unfortunate acquaintanceship between my former teacher and I.

With the crash of a car and the beating of blood, my Mother's wake had begun, and in the evening hours when the rest of my distant relatives went home in preparation of the next day, my siblings, Father and I would stay and chat about memories, past events and the like. Today was the wake, and tomorrow was the funeral. I could only guess what kind of emotions would preside over the entirety of it.


	45. Chapter 45: The Funeral

**Two things I need to work on: procrastination and…I'll get to the other one later.**

"_Amai-san, how are you doing? That's a stupid question; of course you're feeling miserable!"_

"It's getting a little easier as it goes along. But that pretty much sums it up. Why are you whispering?"

"_I'm in the middle of a meeting and we're taking a five-minute break,"_ Naoki-san said, in the background I heard several others talking—whether they were talking to others within their group or to other people on phones I wasn't sure.

"Seems like a waste of a break if you ask me. Calling me up, you should've grabbed a snack or something," I told him, swinging my legs back and forth while I balanced precariously on a thick tree branch no more than ten feet up in the early summer air.

"_I would have called sooner had I known before this morning. So mean of Minori-chan, not telling me something so important," _he sounded like has was pouting, and for a second I actually visualized his scruffy face with a full bottom lip jutting out like a child. _"And here I thought that you were staying with Heiwajima-san because he kicked you out again."_

"I'm sure he had his reasons," I reassured him, spotting my youngest brother as he walked out the back door and crossed the back yard, his dark green school uniform neatly pressed and his green plaid tie loose around his neck, despite the fact that it was one in the afternoon on a Friday—and therefore a school day.

"_Hmm hmm, Amai-san, the only thing I can really say is that I know what you're going through, and that it won't ever really go away, but it'll get a little easier as time goes on,"_ he said surprising me whole-heartedly, to date the only thing I've heard about his family is that he has a younger sister who works with him in sales.

"I'm sorry to hear that. And thanks for the words of comfort, they really mean a lot to me," I told him, leaving whatever questions I had about his family for another time. "Can I ask you something really quick?" I asked him, waving off Sora as he pulled on the ends of my kimono and called for my attention, behind him I saw my Colm—or was it Kichiro?—lean out the door and whistle for me like I was a dog. I retaliated by flipping him off but obliged anyway, turning onto my stomach and making my way nimbly down the trunk. _'Maybe that's why they called me Aka Saru back in elementary school,' _I thought to myself, pressing the phone between my left shoulder and ear while I straightened and tied Sora's tie, Naoki-san chattering in my ear.

"_Of course, of course, Honey. Just make it quick, the break's almost over."_

"I think Shizuo and I should have "the talk", but I'm not sure yet. What do you think?" There was a pause on his end, like he had been suddenly cut off, yet I didn't hear the familiar buzzing sound, I couldn't even hear his breathing. "Naoki-san?" I asked just to make sure he was still there.

"_Talk to me before you talk to him about "the talk", understand? Do _not_ talk to him about it until you talk to me about it,"_ he said mysteriously, his voice getting the kind of edge it had back when he found out I was being a hypocrite.

"What? Why?" I asked him, thoroughly confused as to why he was acting this way. I hadn't pissed him off, had I? No way in hell was I going to be on the end of _that_ hissy-fit again. Sora ran on ahead of me, first stopping by the duck and geese quadrant and bidding the walking dinner-platters a quick farewell and a command to behave for those that were staying behind and not attending the funeral service, i.e. Shizuo, Shinra and Daichi and his mother, Momo-chan—the latter staying behind because of her pregnancy pains and because, according to a phone message Patrick had left yesterday when he was unable to attend the wake, she was two week late as of yesterday.

"_It might be a relationship necessity but it's a relationship killer! I should know! All the girls I had the talk with broke up with me as soon as they brought up that tombstone writer,"_ he explained, his tone lightening up despite his somewhat grim explanation. Yet there was only one thing I was concerned with at the moment, never minding the fact that he was trying to tell me something more important.

"Naoki-san, you…you were straight?" I asked incredulously, my eyebrows shouting up in surprise.

"_I was young and confused and I was just experimenting. Now do you want to talk about my hetero college phase or do you want the answer to your question?"_ he asked, annoyance clouding his tone now instead of the rare hard edge and the normal light-hearted lilt.

"You kinda have me up a tree here, Naoki-san," I joked, smiling despite the grim circumstances.

"_Just call me back later, Honey, we'll discuss it at length,"_ he said, trying to end our small conversation.

"Wait wait wait! One more question!" I hurriedly said, trying to keep him on the line.

"_Well, hurry, the meeting is beginning to restart,"_ he said, hurrying me along.

"I'm in the middle of an argument and I need to win. In your opinion, what constitutes a date?" I asked him, thinking back to late last night when Shizuo brought up the number of dates I had brought up the night before.

"_Any activity spent alone as a couple involving food. Is that all?"_ he asked after effectively answering my question and winning my case.

"_Very good then. Chao for now~"_ he said before hanging up, the silence ringing in my ear as I continued to question what he was thinking and what was so bad about the talk. True, I had been in three previous relationships, but they always ended before we got to that point.

"Sora! Come on, we gotta head out now," I told him, grabbing the back of his solid green jacket and hauling him up from the ground, the geese quacking their disapproval at me as I childishly stuck my tongue out at them and turned my back on the feathered-fiends.

"Wait wait! I wanna feed Piyo-chan before we leave!" he exclaimed, wriggling out of my grip and running ahead of me into the house towards the small enclosure he had set up for his baby chick. I smiled a little at his antics before following at a slower pace. My Dad, younger twin brothers and either Colm or Kichiro had left before us to finish the last minute details, leaving Sora, Colm or Kichiro and myself to finish whatever odd jobs that were left here.

"Hey…Kichiro, when are we leaving?" I asked upon entering the kitchen and seeing the little black box on his thick black collar that was wrapped around his thin, slightly red neck. He looked back at me, his hand by his ear as he waited for whoever was on the other end of his cell phone to pick up.

"I'll tell you when we're leaving, Amai. We're leaving as soon as I put my tie on. And to make that happen I have to take the collar off, and that'll happen when Misako gives the okay and she can only do that if she picks up the God. Damn. Phone!" he said, quickly and rushed like he was aggravated.

"You don't need to call her, she called me yesterday and said to let you off the leash," I told him, leaning my hip against the small kitchen table and setting down my phone before picking through the bowl of fruit set in the center. After picking out a mango and taking a large bite out of it, I looked up and found Kichiro's disbelieving and irritated face staring at me. "What?" I asked through a mouthful of fruit, my word coming out muffled and choppy.

"_What the hell do you mean she called you?!_" he shouted, the phone dropping to his side.

"I mean what I said. Oh! And she told me something else too…what was it?" I asked myself, trying to remember what she had told me while Kichiro's face turned a funny shade of red. He lost his cool after a minute or so and seized my kimono's collar; pulling me up to his face and making me stand on my tip toes.

"Stop stalling and tell me you red-headed midget! _Tell me what the hell she said!_" he yelled, his light green eyes flashing murder as I flashed him a large smile—teeth and all.

"She went to the doctor yesterday and had an ultrasound done. Sent me the picture, too." My smile grew bigger as his snarl grew smaller and his pupils dilated. "Do you want to know the gender? Or are you still sticking to the whole "since the pregnancy was a surprise, the gender should be, too" thing, are you?" I asked him, taking another bite out of my mango and smirking around the edges.

"Well, I, umm…can I see the picture? No, tell me the gender. Wait, no, umm…can someone tell the gender based on a sonogram?" he asked his anger dissipating and giving way to sheer nervousness. I pursed my lips to keep from smiling too much, and partly to keep from snickering at his unusual expression. Normally Kichiro would have a cocky or amused expression on his face, but since today was a funeral, he had a more somber and serious mood in place. So the nervous and jumpy attitude he had now was a nice reprieve from the status quo. "You know what? Don't tell me, I'm keeping it a surprise. Let's just go to the funeral and then afterwards you can show me the sonogram," he decided, flipping the phone shut and sliding it into the front pocket of his black trousers. He reached up to his neck and undid a silver buckle on the black collar, removing it from his neck with delight and throwing it somewhere in the corner with relish, exaggeratingly rubbing his neck before putting the slim black tie around his neck and looking at me expectantly.

I rolled my eyes and finished the rest of my fruit, grabbing the ends of his tie, pulling it tightly around his collar and tying it in a knot. "You change your mind more than a woman does. Now shut up and get in the car, we'll be late if we don't go now." I threw the mango core away and pulled on his tie, leading him out of the kitchen and into the living room like a dog on a leash. In the living room I found three people sitting on the old couch mindlessly watching an action movie, the fourth person having been laid down for nap since his three-year-old body desperately needed it—finding that the concept of death would be difficult to explain to a three-year-old, Momo-chan had reluctantly decided that he stay behind with her. Shizuo and Shinra sat on either end of the couch with Momo-chan in the middle, her swollen belly protruding out farther than the rest of her body, my small kitten padding the swell of her stomach until he curled up into a furry, little ball at its highest curve.

"You sure you guys will be okay for a few hours? It might be dark before everyone gets back," I asked them, handing off the car keys to Kichiro and pushing him towards the door, never minding the fact that the last time I had done so he had hit me with the truck by accident—so stemmed my fear of being hit by cars.

"Hmm hmm hmm, it's not like I bite, Amai-chan. Don't worry, they'll be okay by themselves for a few hours," Momo-chan said, chuckling to herself and patting their shoulders while the boys looked over the back of the couch and stared in shock at me. Well, Shinra looked shocked, Shizuo just looked slightly surprised. "Such a pretty kimono, Amai-chan, it reminds me of the one I wore on my and Patrick-kun's first date, when we walked through the cemetery on the most lovely Friday night." She finished with a small happy smile while Shizuo looked over at her in slight confusion and asked her to repeat herself.

"Her kimono reminds me of my first date with Patrick-kun. You really should have Kishitani-san check your hearing, Heiwajima-san," Momo-chan told him, turning her smile on him while he looked away annoyed, refocusing his eyes on me, ignoring her whole-heartedly.

"Yeah, you look…pretty," he said haltingly, giving me a once over and turning back forward. I puffed out my cheeks in mild annoyance that he had said it so hesitantly and locked my arms over my chest, turning up my nose in haughtiness. I might not be vain but I'd at least like my boyfriend to think me attractive.

"Well I'm going to a funeral, so I have to make sure I look my best out of respect," I said while walking around the couch, coming to a stop in front of them and putting my hands on my hips. "So just a few rules before I leave. Shinra: do not poke, prod, or so much as perform a check-up on Momo-chan unless absolutely necessary or she deems it so. Shizuo: do _not_ destroy this house or I _will_ attempt to kill you," I told them.

"Don't worry, Amai-chan, we'll be on our best behavior," Shinra said. Upon seeing Shizuo's bored face and Shinra's happy-go-lucky smile, I decided to make one more warning, just so their faces would change: mainly Shinra, I'd deal with Shizuo later.

"I'm sure, I'm sure. Oh and Momo-chan, don't let this one fool ya," I pointed at Shinra, making his smile drop a few degrees and his eyebrows raise in surprise and curiosity, "under this adorable exterior lies the face of a pervert." At this his jaw dropped and he looked at me with wide eye, as if he were a child that had found out something life-altering. I smirked to myself and rounded the couch, placing myself directly behind Shinra and leaned down behind him to pinch his cheeks, pulling them to my heart's content as he squirmed. "Oh yes, it's true. In the case of the woman he loves, he doesn't even care if she has her head or not," I finished letting go of his face with a satisfying snap and proceeding towards the door after hearing my brother honk the horn impatiently. Before I could make it past the trio however, Shinra grabbed my sleeve and tugged hard, pulling me down to his level so he could speak in privacy.

"Amai-chan, you know that's not how it is!" Shinra whined, pouting like a child.

"Well sure, I know that and you know that, but to the rest of the world how I just phrased it makes you seem entirely perverted," I whispered back, jerking my sleeve out of his grasp and back walking towards the door.

"Amai-chan," Momo-chan's voice stopped me and forced me to face them once more. In Momo-chan's hand she held a trio of white lilies, the kind one would leave on a grave. "Since these two are banned from the event for obvious reasons, and I'm too pregnant to survive that gravel road twice, would you mind placing these for us with our condolences?" she asked, holding out the flowers for me to take. I stared at them for a moment before reaching out my hand and taking them slowly and hesitantly, and holding them in front of my face, trying to hide the fact that my eyes were getting misty.

I leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped one of my arms around Momo-chan's shoulders hugging her tightly. "I really love you guys. I guess I kinda like you, too, Shinra," I said to him, using the hand that wasn't holding the flowers to ruffle and put askew his hair. I looked sideways and saw Shizuo turn away from the affectionate display, the tips of his ears turning a reddish color despite the lack of emotion on his face.

"I should get going; I've got an impatient brother who might run me over by accident again," I said, detaching myself from Mononoke and running a quick hand through Shizuo's blond hair. I left with that, letting the door slam shut behind me and narrowly dodging the speeding fifteen-year-old that rushed out the door and raced past me and into the passenger seat of the rusted truck—the rest of my brothers, excluding Patrick of course, and Dad had taken Carney's recently remodeled car, one which Kichiro was banned from so much as looking at. Picking up my skirts so I wouldn't trip on them down the three steps, I stopped and bent down to pick up the newspaper from the front step. If there was a downside to living in the country an hour-plus from the city it was the newspaper coming several hours late every damn day. Today, however, was one of the few times I was glad the paper came late in the day.

"Hello Suzuki-sensei," I said snidely to the picture on the front page of the newspaper before folding it back up and taking it with me to the truck. Kichiro leaned his auburn head out the side window and squinted at me, like he was trying to remember who I was.

"Did you change outfits or something?" he asked, taking his hand off the wheel and rubbing his eyes before going back to squinting at me again.

"No, why?" I asked, feeling like he was either dense or trying to set me up for a dry joke.

"Then what the hell took you so long? P.S. black doesn't suit you, what with the bright, red hair and all. Reminds me of a witch's candle," he said. I may have been close with the dry joke, but irritable should've been my first guess.

'_Maybe that's why Momo-chan liked my kimono so much.'_

"Like you're one to talk. You look like a punk secret agent."

"Thanks for the compliment…so, Amai, what's with the flowers?" Kichiro asked from the driver's seat as I reopened the passenger side door and shoved Sora onto the hump, squeezing into my seat and closing the car door behind me. I looked at the flowers in my lap and held them up for him to see.

"Condolences from the people inside, it was really sweet of them to get them for her," I answered Kichiro while holding them in from of Sora's nose so he could smell them. He sniffed at them like a puppy sniffing a new chew toy and turned his nose away from the petals, seeming to dislike them.

"They're the wrong ones," he said, confirming what I assumed.

I smiled a little at this and set them back in my lap as Kichiro pulled out of the driveway and onto the long gravel road towards the city no less than an hour away. "They're more appropriate than the ones we have," I rebutted leaning my elbow against the edging of the side window and leaning my head into my hand, staring impassively out the window as green hills and daylight rushed by without a pause.

In the reflection of the window glass, I saw Sora open his mouth to speak, only to close it when Kichiro spoke for him. "They're Mom's favorites. There's nothing more appropriate than that," Kichiro said, his foot pressing down in the gas pedal harder, yet despite this the truck only increased slightly in speed. Sunflowers: probably the most ironic funeral flower, but since Mom requested them, we didn't really have an alternative option. Probably the only exception would be people who weren't in the know, so for this we could forgive the white lilies. "Now let's just get this over with, shall we?" Sora nodded somberly as we rumbled along the gravel path. Absentmindedly I agreed with Momo-chan as we hit a series of bumps in the road—most likely caused by the recent thunder storm. The rolled up newspaper that was once tucked by my side had jumped into my lap on a particularly bad bump, and a hand as small as mine plucked it out and unfolded it out of curiosity.

"Is this Suzuki-sansei?" Sora asked, looking at the school picture posted on the front page under the head line "Local Teacher Found in Ravine: Accident or Conspiracy?"

'_Must be a slow news day. And conspiracy? Who are these people, paranoid hikikomoris?' _I thought to myself, while I pretended to look confused and…what's the opposite of pleased as punch? "Besides the lines of age, it looks like it is," I agreed, reading over his shoulder the story of how he police had found him unconscious in a ravine northwest of the city and so far have no leads. _'Gotta hand it to the guys, they do their jobs well,'_ I thought, smiling inwardly as I read the story to the last word.

"What do you think happened to him?" Sora asked slow reader as always as he trailed a finger from sentence to sentence. A scoff was heard on the other side of him, and I leaned around my little brother's body to silently question him. He looked at us out of the corner of his eye and his mouth turned down in a snarl as he spoke.

"Who cares? The tool probably pissed someone off by being his usual condescending self." Unknown to him what he said was right on the mark. I smiled grimly and felt my hand tighten on the flower stems, the memory of a cold shower on my back, warm blood slowly cooling on my knuckles and the faint aroma of ash and nicotine wafting through the air coming back to me in small flashes. Sora's deadpan tone snapped me out of my small reverie, his face replicating his voice as he turned away from the newspaper to face our older brother.

"You're just still upset that he gave you and Colm a suspension for a week when you were both first years," he said blatantly before going back to the newspaper, his statement hitting its mark and bringing with it a plethora of repressed anger.

"You can't judge a person based on looks alone, and even then you need solid evidence that you're what they think you are. And that suspension screwed up my—_our_ perfect record! So I have plenty to be pissed about," he said grumbling towards the end. Meanwhile both Sora and I rolled our eyes at his petty reasoning.

"Even so…I can't help but feel a little bad." I looked over at him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, hugging him against me while I wept fake pity and sorrow.

"Sora, you're too kind for this world…just too…too kind," I told him openly weeping crocodile tears as I rubbed his cheek against mine affectionately before pushing him away rather coldly as I went back to my usual mixture of bitchy, snarky and sarcastic. "But seriously, don't bother feeling bad for a dick. Kichiro's right, the arrogant asshole probably deserved it," I told him, letting my back hit the seat as I feigned ignorance of having anything to do with what happened to him.

"Oh no, it's not like that. He has a good teaching method and he's probably going to be out for a while. My grades will probably suffer if the substitute is bad," Sora said callously as he glared at the smiling picture before crushing the whole entire thing between his hands and tossing it down to the floor between our feet, and crossing his arms over his school uniform. "Beyond that I don't much care for his attitude."

I stared at him in shock, having never known Sora to be this callous about anyone. Unfortunately Kichiro was staring as well and only after the truck had nearly driven off the road and into a mailbox. After a five minute reprieve of snapping my brother back into attention and getting our hearts back in our chests I exclaimed, "My brother, you're finally one of us!" and pulling him against me again and hugging him tightly while he thrashed and fidgeted his way to escape.

"Onee-sama~ stop it! You're wrinkling my jacket and your kimono is getting all messed up!" he shouted, pushing my hands away from his small body and straightening out his jacket before fussing over my slightly skewed attire. I let him do as he wished, seeing as he had helped me pull it all together in the first place since the last person to help me is… Point is I'm terrible at dressing myself in traditional clothing.

As I let him nitpick the wrinkles and straighten out my obi, I looked over his bright red hair and spoke to Kichiro, asking him various things pertaining to the funeral set to start in two hour's time and learning that it would be a good few hours and that afterwards we would be going to Aunt Senri's house for dinner. The half hour after that flew by in an early-summer haze of yellow sunlight and gravel until the tires hit pavement and buildings made of concrete and metal girders rose up around us. Around us people walked the streets and stopped in shops while we drove through town and fell into a kind of somber attitude, a dark cloud falling over us as the gates of the local cemetery came into view, the small group of cars in front spewed from its confinements my varies relatives.

Kichiro rolled the truck to a slow stop before reversing into a space behind a black sedan, the likes from which emerged several brutish men in pitch-black suits—members from my Mom's family if you know what I mean. "This was supposed to me family only, right?" Kichiro asked aloud as we watched the men step aside and allowed a middle-aged woman to step forth from the vehicle.

"Technically, they _are_ family," Sora replied, a strained smile on his face as he looked out the windshield and politely waved hello to our Aunt as she turned around and walked towards the truck to greet us. Instead of her usual purple pantsuit, she now wore a kimono of dark grey with her short hair loose around her face. She waved back before facing forward again, her husband and children greeting her at the gate before walking with her into the confines of the cemetery, the entourage of grim looking men following at a distance behind. "And somehow Senri oba-san is scarier than before," he surmised, shrinking down into the seat.

"She's always been scary; the black-garbed goons just make it more obvious," I reassured him before opening my door and letting him and myself out while Kichiro fiddled with the door handle before finally kicking it open in frustration, ignoring the obvious fact that he could have simply scooted out our door. From there everything went by in a monotonous haze. I stood by the car, the long stemmed, white flowers clutched in my sweaty palm, as my brothers entered the grounds in small groups, and moved only when my Dad took my free hand and pulled me along with him, making me feel like I was eight years old again and going to Sofu-san's funeral all over again.

Gray stones surrounded us on all sides, but the pavement was the only thing I focused on until Dad brought us to a stop, forcing me to look up cautiously to see if the reason we had stopped was because we had arrived at the gravesite. I was both disheartened and relieved to find out that while we were, indeed, in the presence of my Mom's casket and a Shinto priest—both of which would make my Catholic, grieving Dad more than uncomfortable once the funeral started—my oldest brother Patrick had finally made an appearance in front of me.

Half of me wanted to hug him since I hadn't seen him since Christmas, yet the other half desperately wanted to punch him, if only because he has so weak a backbone towards his pregnant wife that he couldn't go against her wishes for fresh air rather than being less than an hour away from the nearest hospital. Nevertheless I did both. After I let go of my father's hand I walked three steps closer to my big brother and punched him in the arm, making him flinch in pain before punching my arm right back—for what I couldn't guess. Revenge? Possibly—and hugging me immediately after. Patrick could be a confusing person when he wanted to be—maybe this was because he was a mix of old-fashioned and modern—so we could never really tell what he was up to, then or now. Of course, the same rule applied to his teachers and employers—while it seemed that he would be the type of person to do something evil and underhanded, his other personality trait said otherwise, which always let him off the hook. Perhaps the most underhanded thing he had ever done was when he first met Mononoke-chan.

When he first met her, he was obsessive compulsive in his quest to marry her—although back then he called it courting and for some reason she seemed to enjoy it. Of course since her reality was as old-school and out-dated as his reality, they were a perfect match from the start. Although often I wonder what would have happened if Patrick hadn't single-handedly destroyed her former boyfriend's life to the point of the boyfriend getting arrested for back taxes and embezzlement, but then I remember with the level of crazy she secretly possessed, it was bound to fall through eventually for them.

Look wise my big brother was like my younger twin brothers—he did not have our father's characteristics—although oddly enough he didn't have our mother's either. No, he looked more like Uncle Malcolm in the respect that he was pale, blond, and skinny as all get out. Probably the only thing he had in common with the rest of Dad's children were his bright green eyes—a characteristic my Dad possessed while his twin brother didn't; although being fraternal twins they had very few physical things in common to begin with.

So after the rarest of affection between us ended, my Dad took my hand again and led me between himself and Patrick to where the rest of my family stood in a half circle. On the far end stood my Uncle Kashi and his personal jailor, and beside them were my varied uncles and aunts, and cousins and brothers, with my Dad, Patrick and I bringing up the other end of the half circle. Standing a few feet behind us were the higher ups of Mom's yakuza family—those who had known her since her father "took over" the previous head. The funeral went on at a moderate pace with the priest leading the procession, although my mind wandered repeatedly to miscellaneous and aggravating things. I felt my hand get squeezed tightly and when I looked up I saw my Dad looking down at the ground with a grim expression and sad eyes. On the other side of him I saw Sora take his other hand and he squeezed it just as tightly as mine. I was leaving tomorrow—whether it be by my own will or not—and my Dad would be left with my younger brothers to fend for themselves.

'_The question is if I hold it against him or not. On the one hand he was tricked by Colm, and he only came here to take me back home with him. On the other he intruded upon a personal family issue and is keeping me from spending more time with my family. Then again, I'd have to leave on Sunday anyway to make my shift at the club on Monday, and keep my half-time job at the bakery on Tuesday. So whether I leave Saturday or Sunday doesn't matter in the long run. It's more of a moral issue I guess,'_ I thought to myself, going through the motions as we each placed a funeral flower on her coffin. A cluster of white lilies intermingled with bright yellow, black eyed sunflowers making for a weird combination atop the polished wood. When it came time for Dad to place his own flower, he shuffled forward a few steps before collapsing on his knees, his hands molded into fists and held tightly against the pant legs of his cheap, light gray suit.

I stood petrified behind him, having never known him to show so much negative emotion aside from anger. My big brother Patrick, however, was the first to act, leaving my side to kneel down beside him and wrap an arm around his shaking shoulders. Colm followed, with Kichiro close behind, placing a hand on his other shoulder. Slowly one by one the rest of my brothers came up to our father to give him strength to make it through the procession, while I simply stood behind the rest of them, shocked stupid with the underlying hint of feeling utterly useless in way of emotions. Had my feelings of dread and moroseness left my body yesterday in the presence of pleasure from beating senseless a man who had hurt and betrayed me? Or had I healed more quickly than the men of my family? Gripping the flowers more tightly in my hand, I took my first steps forward and took from my Dad's hand the flower he had wrangled into a yellow and green mess.

I crouched down in front of him and held out my somewhat wilted flower for him to take. He looked up at me with hollow eye, looking ten years older than he was yesterday. "She was in so much pain, Margret. What could I have done to help her? I was so…useless," he said quietly, ending on a heartbreaking note. I looked away from him towards the ground, seeming to search it for some answers that I knew weren't there. Above me my brothers stood silently, watching me for some sort of answer for their own questions as well. All this time I blamed myself for causing Mom so much stress, anywhere from fighting with my siblings or classmates to getting suspended from school, but as I looked up at my brothers and saw their conflicted and anguished faces, I could see that they each blamed themselves in some small way. I took a deep breath and stood up, pulling him up along with me.

"Dad, we should say goodbye now, and let Mom rest in peace after all these years," I told him, holding the sunflower out for him to take once more. He looked down at the wilted thing and hesitantly raised his hand to take it. My brother stayed back as I walked with him to Mom's coffin and laid down the small bundle of flowers I held in my hand, the weight of everything leaving my body as I said goodbye. Dad's hand lingered a bit before falling away from the top of the polished wood his words soft and little more than a whisper. Patrick went after us and set down his own flower, letting the funeral service draw to a close with the grave dirt burying her six feet down and a second bundle of flowers decorating her plot.

The group disbanded at a leisurely pace: Kashi going back to prison, Malcolm and Daniel stealing Dad away for a night of drinking, Tarou, with his ex-wife and son, meeting up with Senri and her family to go to dinner, and we seven trying to figure out whether to go with them or go home. Sora disappeared first with Colm and Kichiro in the old pick-up truck, planning to spend the next several hours with Aunt Senri, her family, and her ilk. I made my plans to go home with Kazuhiro and Carney in their newly rebuilt car, with Patrick following close behind so he could pick up his pregnant wife and child.

However with the single ring of a cell phone, our destination and grouping was changed. When Kazuhiro's cell rang, I thought nothing of it, blatantly assuming that it was Mimiko calling to see how he was doing. When I heard the person on the other line yelling, I chalked it up to some poor tool he screwed over on the internet or in person. But when Kazuhiro tapped me on the shoulder and shoved the phone in my face, I did a double take at the number listed and hesitantly held the cell against my ear.

"…Shizuo?" I asked wondering at who and what his anger was directed.

"_Dumbass!"_

"What?"

"_What kind of dumbass are you? Who the hell forgets to take their phone when they leave?"_ he yelled/asked me, making me snort in derision.

"Big talk coming from someone who couldn't even remember my name after a month," I shot at him, leaning my back against the gate as watching as Patrick talked with Carney for a bit while Kazuhiro waited beside me semi-patiently for his phone.

"_Whatever! Just get you and your brother's asses over to the hospital, now,"_ he said impatiently, tone aggravated as per usual.

"What? Why! Is someone hurt? Did Kishitani-san get too close to the bull again? I told that idiot that Hunter's temperament was like yours!" I ranted, putting a hand on my hip and huffing in anger.

"_Will you shut up and listen?! Shinra called an ambulance a while ago, just go to the hospital and wait for us there. Your occult friend just went into labor."_


	46. Chapter 46: Bleh! Feelings Hour

I have this thing about me, whenever I have negative emotions that I'd rather keep bottled up inside for eternity, I bake something. For when I was nervous: cookies. For when I didn't want to deal with being sad or depressed: brownies. I had no idea what emotions would prompt me to bake cakes, but I was pretty sure it was something I hadn't experienced yet. So for whatever emotions I was currently having at this moment in time: two hours after learning Momo-chan had gone into labor, it meant pudding. Although I wasn't so much making it as I was devouring it like a starved person who just got off of a deserted island with no fresh water or animals to kill for food. Sticking my little plastic spoon into my forth cup of chocolate pudding, I addressed the overly stressed men in the little white hospital room with me.

"Guys, just relax. Momo-chan's done this once before, and it's guaranteed that this time will go just as smoothly," I reassured the blondes, one of which was currently smoking up a cloud in the middle of the waiting room. The fact that since it was overly clichéd that the father of the unborn child would be smoking while he waited impatiently for him to be born was something I would most likely be okay with—if only because I was a small fan of clichés. However, since it was not my big brother—who was currently pacing back and forth across the length of the room, wearing a rut into the linoleum stone—I had a very shallow understanding of why Shizuo was smoking, one that mostly consisted of Mononoke causing a panic with the unsuspecting and inexperienced city-boys. "Besides which, Patrick, her cards said that it would be a safe delivery—"

"Her cards can go fuck themselves. Fuckin' hell, I told her a thousand times that her going to visit Father wouldn't be a good idea, but no, NO! she just had to go and take her fuckin' car and drive all the way out there with Daichi," he interrupted, his rant catching an Irish lilt, like it did whenever he got mad enough. "Daichi…_where the fuck is Daichi you great lumbering giant?!_" he yelled, turning on his heel to address the blonde man next to me smoking his third cigarette. Shizuo's upper lip curled away from his lips in a snarl and he glared up at the natural blonde standing no more than five feet away from him—a safe enough distance if Shizuo flipped his shit and took out his stress on my big brother.

"We've been here for twenty minutes and _now_ you ask where you're _son is?!_" Shizuo asked him, moving to stand only to be held back down when I reached across the three seats separating us and took hold of his ear, pinching the fleshy lobe between my fingers and triggering in him a calmness that slowly flooded his body.

"Just because we're in a hospital, doesn't mean you can start going bat-shit crazy. Everyone's stressed out right now, Shizuo. Not just you," I told him, a special hard tone edging my voice—like the one I had used some matter of months ago when he and his partner-in-crime had taken over my crappy apartment for the second time. He looked at me out of the corner of his drooping eyes and took the cigarette out of his mouth, addressing only me with a small slur to his words.

"Did that crazy woman ever throw a chair at you for no reason at all?" I could tell he was trying to make a point, but I had absolutely no idea what it was.

"Yes, but to be fair Patrick was using me as a human shield and she was six months pregnant and jacked up on hormones at the time," I answered him, letting my hand fall back to my lap and pick up my plastic spoon, bringing it and a big glob of chocolate pudding up to my salivating mouth. Patrick scoffed at the reminder and turned away, momentarily forgetting the question of where his son was. "Don't worry Patrick onii-sama. I'll forgive that as soon as you pony up the dough for my release from these iron shackles you put me in," I told him, wriggling my left arm and letting the other handcuff rattle noisily against the pristine metal of the stiff-backed chair. You'd figure for a waiting room they'd spring for more comfortable chairs. As to why I was in handcuffs? For that I'd have to go back about two hours, to the time when Shizuo had called and interrupted the beginning of a long-ass drive home in minimal silence and somberness.

What had started out as a depressing day slowly got crappier as I was faced at that point with a singular question: to tell Patrick, or not to tell Patrick. Although it wasn't so much of a question as it was a problem. I already knew why Shinra and Shizuo had called for an ambulance, seeing as they had no means of transportation short of walking there; the wild card was Patrick, whether he would go directly to the hospital and wait for his wife there, or take his car up to the farm despite the fact that the ambulance was probably half way there by then. Fortunately when I told him he didn't choose either choice. Unfortunately, he tossed me the keys and slid into the passenger seat of his car. At the beck and call of an angered and in-pain woman, Shizuo hung up, a small growl left as his goodbye as I fumbled with the cumbersome key ring and slid into the driver's seat, flipping back and forth between several sets of keys while Patrick sat in moderate silence, tapping his foot impatiently.

When I finally got the correct key in the ignition and started it up, I went from timid and shy to on-the-fly as I repeatedly cut people off and got cursed at as I sped past the speed limit and a driving-just-under-the-speed-limit Honda. It's not that I couldn't drive, it was just that I was bad at it and had little to no sense of driving etiquette. This didn't seem to alert Patrick however, seeing as my reckless driving skills may have been the reason he had thrown me the keys in the first place. Within the first twenty minutes I had made several driving violations, and by the time the cop following me had managed to pull me over, I had a parking violation to add to my shit list.

"You owe me forty-thousand yen for that little fiasco, and don't even try to deny that it was your fault in the first place! Count yourself lucky that Fujimoto-kun and I used to date that he even considered going easy on me," I told him, Shizuo flicked his eyes over at me in surprise, the gears in his head clicking as he figured out what this meant, the thought of which eradicating any milliliter of calmness that I had set in motion. I ignored the scowl however and turned on him in repressed anger, tallying up his own debt to me. "And you," I began, making his hardened eyes flick towards me and away from my brooding brother, "you owe me fifty-seven thousand yen for Yuki's car." He physically flinched a bit at the amount and kept his mouth shut, the hard edge in his eyes never leaving as he brooded in silence alongside my pacing brother.

At this point I couldn't tell if Patrick was pacing because he was waiting for good news from the delivery room, or if he was anxious about the whereabouts of his first-born. I quickly reassured him that he was safe with a friend of ours—here I was just trying to reassure him to the best of my abilities; if I was being honest I'd probably still call him an acquaintance. He seemed to calm down some, which just meant that he was equally concerned about both issues. I finished off my cup of pudding and threw it into the garbage can sitting across the room from us, making it bounce off the lip and fall gracelessly to the floor. I took the plastic spoon out of my mouth and pointed at it, looking expectantly at Patrick as he made his sixty-third turn back to us.

"Mind helping me out, Trick? I'm kinda tied at the moment," I said, jiggling the handcuff again. He narrowed his eyes at me and turned back around, stalking over to throw it away properly, all the while questioning himself about when Fujimoto-kun would come back. He had a good point, never mind his reason. My ex-boyfriend had been the one to pull me over and had been kind enough to escort us to the hospital, only to turn around and handcuff me to a waiting room chair and tell me to wait while he called his superior—the only woman besides my mother to actually install in me weariness. That had been over an hour ago and the only explanations I could come up with were these: it is a long talk, he was scoring with a nurse, or he had just plain forgotten I was here. The latter two being more likely knowing his character.

"Shouldn't he be with his wife? For, I dunno, moral support or something?" Shizuo's deep voice questioned, mild annoyance seeping through as he watched Patrick continue his pacing.

"He's not the greatest help when it comes to deliveries. When Daichi was born the first thing he did was feint. I'm still trying to figure out if it was because he realized he was a father, or if it was because of the after-birth," I chuckled, watching Patrick's back shudder at the mention of it. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shizuo's nose scrunch up and the space between his eyebrows crinkle, meaning he was either confused or equally grossed out.

'_Men.'_

"Grow up guys, it's just a placenta. Your mom's both had one when they were pregnant with you and any other children they had and it got expelled at roughly the same time you did, it was your source of nutrition, waste elimi—"

"If you want me to vomit then please, keep talking, by all means, Runt," Patrick bit, holding a hand over his mouth as he scowled at me. I smirked back at him, smiling widely as I looked from him to Shizuo as he leaned back further into his chair, his cigarette long since snuffed out as he seemed to attempt to ignore whatever I had said.

"You're not gonna get sick, too, are ya, Shizu-chan?" I asked him, making his posture do rigid and tense and his mouth curl into a snarl. He looked back at me, making me drop my smile and wait for him to say it.

"_Do NOT call me SHIZU-CHAN!_" he yelled, eyes wide and full of livid anger as he shot up and towered over me, the metal arms—having once been part of an uncomfortable chair—dangled dangerously in his hands, the metal bending effortlessly within his grasp. I looked up at him blankly having been caught off guard, watching silently as his breathed raggedly. Behind him I noticed Patrick take a few steps back, obviously intimidated by Shizuo's sudden outburst. I sighed to myself and ran a quick hand through my hair.

"Patrick, it's been awhile since Momo-chan got here, why don't you go see if she's doing alright," I told him in a calm voice. His footsteps were light and fleeting as he left the room, the sound of them diminishing as he disappeared down the hall. We stayed in silence as I waited for Shizuo to slowly regain whatever composure he normally had that was non-lethal. "Shizuo, why don't you tell me what you're mad about," I began when his face and body looked less livid. His eyes narrowed a fraction of a centimeter and he gripped the arm rests tightly in his fists, the metal giving out a low metal squeal—as if they hadn't had the life squeezed out of them already.

"What are you talking about?" he asked in return, his anger no more than a bubbling simmer.

"You _never_ get that angry at me when I call you Shi—that name," I told him, correcting myself before I caused another sudden outburst, "so why don't you tell me what you're pissed about." The arm rests fell from his hands and clanged noisily against the linoleum, his arms crossing and his hands griping his upper arms in what seemed like a vice-like grasp.

"If you think that then maybe you don't know me," he said his voice gruff as usual as he glared down at me. Having had enough of being talked down to while I sat impudently, I stood up, only to be knocked back down again when I foolishly forgot about the metal ring encircling my wrist. I sat back down less awkwardly than before and leaned back, crossing my legs at the knee and trying to rewrite my stupid act with one that I hoped was a little more dignified.

"Then enlighten me, dear Shizu-chan. Pray tell, why are you upset?" I asked him, leaning back further in my chair when he uncrossed his arms and placed them on either arm rest beside me, leaning down and pressing his face closer to mine. Small breaths hit my face as he continued to stare at me through narrowed eyes. Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little intimidated and confused. I raised a single eyebrow in question while I waited for him to say something.

"You're not acting normal," he finally spat out, nicotine stained breath fanning my face as he continued to watch me carefully.

"Pfft, define what normal for me is," I scoffed making his lip curl in annoyance.

"Normal would be telling me what happened. _Normal_ would be telling me where the hell you went without hearing it from your brother. _NORMAL _would be crying at a funeral." The first I could understand. The second was obvious in and of itself since even if I went insane, I would never send a one word farewell through mail. The third was news to me, but I suppose lack of red-rimmed eyes would have been anyone's first clue.

"Let me tell you a little story. Once upon a time there were two siblings, the older one's name was: Don't Judge Me, and the younger one's name was: _Shut Up_. Learn from this story, Blonde," I huffed, irritated that the most un-normal person in Ikebukuro was reprimanding me—granted I wasn't all that normal myself. His annoyed expression told me that he didn't find my tale amusing, not one little bit. Finally he pushed himself away from and strode across the room as far as he could away from me; the only evidence to his irritation being the finger-sized dents in the metal arm rests of my chair. It took no less than a minute for the awkward silence to set in, and less than three minutes for Shizuo—who had up to this point been leaning back against the opposite wall, glaring at the floor—to uncross his arms and reach into his pants pocket, only to have his searching fingers come across nothing. He turned his simmering gaze on me and I in turn looked away to the wall next to me, attempting a type of nonchalance and innocence.

"Where are they?"

"Well, Patrick probably got sucked into the job of "whipping boy" and is getting most of the bones in his hands crushed, and Fujimoto-kun is probably flirting with a nurse. His ego from being the star of the baseball team sure hasn't deflated," I muttered, earning a growl in response to my blatant disregard of what he truly meant.

"_Not them, where are my cigarettes?!_" he snarled, hands curling into tight fists as he seemingly fought himself to control his anger and body. I moved to stand up again, only to be stopped once again when the metal cuff restricted my movement. Annoyed at the mere presence of the metal circles, I sat back down and, ignoring Shizuo's ever increasing frustration, jangled and tugged at the cuff uselessly in a small attempt to rid myself of the hindrances. Shizuo walked quickly across the room and leaned down to grasp my wrist, jerking my arm upward in a short and sharp motion, easily separating the cuff around my wrist from the cuff around the arm rest. After freeing me from my small predicament, he released my arm and straightened back up, going back to his own nicotine-addicted predicament while I rubbed the sore area on my wrist where the metal had inadvertently cut into my skin.

"Give them back." I looked up at him and said the only sensible thing someone in my situation would say after someone had just rescued them from imprisonment via small, metal hand-cuffs.

"No."

"Give them back!"

"No!"

"Give me them right now!" he said, a hand shooting out from his side to hit the wall by my head, his fist sinking into the plaster. I flinched at the sudden movement and settled a simple glower on him.

"If you want them, you're gonna have to take them from me, Blonde," holding them up with my left hand for him to see. With his right still in the wall, he reached across himself with his left to grab the crumpled, half-empty pack, only to grab empty air when I ducked under his reaching arm and skipped backwards a few feet, watching amused as he whipped his head towards me with a somewhat furious expression on his face.

"If you want to take them from me, you're gonna have to catch me, Jackass!" I laughed at him, turning quickly on my heel and running out into the hall, hiking up the floor-length skirt of my kimono and flat-out running down the opposite way I knew the delivery room to be. As fast as I was going, I was just as easily caught by my ex—who had in fact been flirting with a nurse at the reception desk—who narrowly caught my arm and pulled me back, just about wrenching my arm out of its' socket and forcing me to fall back on my ass, my head barely missing the linoleum.

"Tomboy! How'd you slip your cuffs?" Fujimoto asked me, slipping his arm under mine and bringing me roughly to my feet.

"Well, with how tightly you—_Pah!—_put them I couldn't get them off myself. And they were just annoying the hell out of my boyfriend," I told him, grunting in irritation when he pushed me up against the wall—something, I might add, I was used to around him. Although not in this way—and folded my arms behind my back.

"Boyfriend? What, the blonde bartender guy? And here I thought you went for the police man type," he commented, his colleague being the guy I had dated one year after him—the brunette, former basketball player, Yuki.

"Not true. Back in Ikebukuro I dated a dated a guy for a couple months last year, and his job had nothing to do with the police. And Shizuo's not a bartender anymore." I don't know why I was just standing here making weird small talk with a guy I had dated a grand total of four months, while my current boyfriend was chasing me down for a pack of cigarettes; maybe I was crazy.

"What do they do?" he asked me after turning me around and bringing my arms forward, snapping on another pair of dreaded handcuffs. A low sounding growl resounded down the hall, the feint last syllable of my name heard with it. Deciding to wrap up this troublesome endeavor, I stole his keys and uncuffed myself while he looked questioningly down the hall where the ruffled blonde had made his appearance.

"Bouncer and body guard respectively," I answered him, slipping the pair of handcuffs and its' keys into his hand before hightailing it back down the way I was originally going. Fujimoto shouted for me to come back, while I shouted back, "Not gonna happen!"

Stealing a brief glance backward while I rounded a corner, I saw Fujimoto-kun—foolishly—try to stop the fuming blonde from chasing after me, only to be shoved against the wall and passed by while Shizuo ran after me. Hiking my skirt up around my hips once again, I ran to outrun him, knowing full well that if I couldn't outrun Izaya—a man Shizuo had never been able to catch—then I would be caught by him eventually. This was made true when, just after I had made a sharp left down another corridor, I felt the fabric on the back of my neck go taut and my body go weightless for what seemed like a few minutes when in reality it must have been a few nanoseconds before my back hit a rounded, concrete edge—better known as Shizuo's shoulder.

His arm wrapped around my waist with his hand grabbing hold of my obi, using it to hold me against his body—my feet a foot off the ground—while he grasped my right hand in his and slid it upward. His callous and rough palm left a trail on my flesh, and his grip on my arm tightened as he slid it towards my hand inch by inch. I flailed, kicked my legs, wriggled my body and clawed at the arm wrapped around my waist in an attempt to get away from him and throw the pack of cancer sticks down the trash chute; but it was all to no avail because of my super-strong boyfriend.

"_Stop moving around so damn much and give me my damn cigarettes!_" he snarled, finally wrenching the crumpled and slightly damp pack of cigarettes from my sweaty hand, but he didn't put me down, continuing to hold my body against his.

"Give them back!" I shouted, flailing again when I noticed Shizuo start to pocket them out of the far corner of my eye. He stopped momentarily to narrow his eyes at me and repeated back what I had said minutes earlier to him.

"No."

"Give them back, Shizuo! Right now!" I yelled again, stretching my arm and trying to reclaim the little death sticks. My efforts were in vain though because of my disadvantageous position and the small fact that Shizuo had longer limbs than I did.

"Why do you keep stealing them every damn time?!" he asked me, his voice deep and gruff in my ear as I craned my head to see where the cigarettes were.

"Because!"

"Why?"

"_Because!_"

"_Why?!_"

"_Because I want you to live forever and not end up sick and dying in a hospital bed before your time! Alright?!_ Do you hear me? Do I have to explain it a thousand more times before you get it through your thick as steel head?!" I screamed, panting a bit at the exertion of finally saying it loud and clear. "Do you get it now, you jackass? I care about your health, even if you apparently don't." My face betrayed me as I felt my cheeks grow warm and pink with blush despite the fact that I had nothing to be embarrassed about. I turned my head the other way so I wouldn't have to look at his surprised stare, feeling my face grow warmer and warmer. I don't know why it embarrassed me so to tell him my reasons for continuously stealing his cigarettes—for one thing it should have been obvious. He went completely silent then; the only sound I heard was his quiet breathing in my ear and the most basic hospital noises.

He made a small movement, jostling me slightly while he—most likely—pocketed the half-crushed pack. A small rustling came from beside me, but knowing that it was cigarettes, I thought nothing of it. That is, until a folded and crushed envelope was put in front of my line of sight. I was confused by what it was and what it was for, but before I could open my mouth to gather such information, he said one simple thing.

"Open it."

I stared at it for a few seconds, debating whether to piss him off or comply with his wishes. It would be wise to choose the latter…but not according to my personality.

"I've had enough of condolence letters for today. So thanks but no thanks," I told him, crossing my arms and turning my nose up in a haughty gesture.

"Just open it! It's not a condolence letter," he reassured me, pushing it at me again. I sighed and unfolded my arms, taking it from his hand and smoothing it out as best I could while I was suspended in mid-air.

"Whatever it is, just don't expect me to cry or something; it's almost impossible to make me cry," I told him, turning the letter over and ripping the flap open, growing suspicious when a small peek inside showed various colors and what looked like…a tail? I pulled the stiff paper out and was surprised to find a chibi image of a Shiba dog under the caption "Happy Birthday" written in large rainbow characters. "What the hell is this?" I asked him quietly, flipping open the cover and reading the inside through glassy eyes.

"It's a birthday card dumbass. Your birthday was last week, wasn't it?" he said as blunt as he normally was. He set me down and we stood in silence while I read, my shoulders shaking slightly.

"I told you, you didn't have to," I said rereading the same word for the fifth time, somehow I couldn't make myself go past that part, the part where it said new life experiences. A little voice in the back of my head questioned if Shizuo had gotten this card specific despite not knowing about my mother until three days ago; another voice questioned if he had given it to me just to invoke some feeling I wasn't comfortable with having: the kind of feeling I felt when Shizuo told me to get lost after a huge misunderstanding on his part. If that was his game…it was sure as hell working.

"You didn't say not to." Was his simple reply that made the dam burst for the second time that year.

"Idiot! Shizuo, you idiot! What are doing? What are you doing getting me a birthday card? And it's a week late, too." I felt my reddened cheeks grow wet and it wasn't until I reached up to wipe them away that I realized I was crying. "Idiot! Stupid Shizuo. Getting me a cute birthday card with a cute, little puppy on it" I sniffled, unable to stop myself from leaking, growing more and more angry with myself when I only cried harder. "So doesn't make me happy. Stupid." At this point I let out a cry and crumpled into myself, using my pitch black kimonos' long sleeves to dry my face when my hands became too slick to help. "And…and giving it to me after my Mom's funeral. Stupid Shizuo," I said, turning to glare at him. Although my tear-stained face and red-rimmed eyes didn't help my cause.

His eyes narrowed at me and his lip turned up in a snarl—I could understand why since I kept calling him stupid and idiot—and for a second I thought he might start yelling at me to calm the hell down. But he didn't. No, he only reached out and grasped the back of my kimono like before—more gentle, but still forceful—and pulled me to him, his arms wrapping around me and lifting me up and holding me like I was a five-year-old. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, my sneaker-clad feet locking together behind his back while I cried into his shoulder.

He started moving, but I didn't know where—the waiting room? The reception desk?—all I saw were the heels of his shiny, black shoes as he walked and the moving linoleum squares. Pretty soon he stopped and I heard a door open behind me.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, sobering up a bit and wiping a few stray tears away. He didn't say anything, all he did was step inside of a janitors' closet and shut the door behind us, the cruel world forgotten as a single swinging light bulb was turned on, illuminating a few shelves of various cleaning fluids, and some mops and buckets. He let me down and I sank away, sitting on a floor I was almost eighty-percent sure was filthy. Above me Shizuo shifted, leaning against the door and seeming to stare straight at nothing. It was almost five minutes before my tear ducts finally ran out of the offending liquid, and in actuality…I felt better. Less weighed down, lighter now that I had gotten it all out. I pulled my head out of my knees and swept my hair back, looking up at the tall, imposing man before me.

"You're wearing you're bartender get-up," I commented, looking at the slightly wrinkled button-down and the no-longer-crisp black slacks, hoping to break the ice that had somehow formed in the small closet space. He grunted in response, which I took to mean, "yeah".

"I'll wash it for you tonight so you can wear it fresh tomorrow," I told him, earning another grunt in response. I looked down at the twice folded card in my hand, the eyes of the chibi Shiba dog staring back at me. "I really like the card, it's cute. I actually had a dog like this when I was twelve." By this point I felt like I was rambling.

"You reminded me of it," he murmured, sticking his hands in his pockets in a sort of nonchalant gesture. I however dropped my jaw in shock and irritation, quickly stumbling to my feet and glaring up at him in rage.

"So what, I remind you of a dog?! Do I yelp and bark one, too?! Or is it because I'm small? _Huh?!_ Why Shizuo?!" I yelled forgetting whatever small moment of vulnerability had just passed over me, living up to the stupid nickname some pissed off gang member or "joking" pedestrian had come up with: Bipolar Fireball.

"I don't know. All of it!" he growled, upset by the amount of pressure and accusation I was putting into my words. What he said made me snap, but before I could go into detail how much he was pissing me off, the intercom came on, interrupting the beginning of a very bad, or very boring, fight.

"_Tachibana Amai, you're elder brother wishes to meet you by th_—" a young, female voice said, her voice slightly scratchy because of the intercom and muffled because of the door, before she was interrupted by the light tenor voice of my oldest brother.

"_Give me that! Hold on…how do you use this thing?_" he asked the nurse on his end, his technologically crippled side taking over as he tried to learn the general mechanics of the speaker. "_Oh, it's on? Okay. Hey, Amai, if you want to see your new baby nephew, get your pint-sized ass down to the delivery ward, pronto,_" he said, a loud screech following as he attempted to turn it off by himself. His preference of long-hand over cell phones may have been a mistranslation on my part. I glared at Shizuo for a second longer before I pushed past him and opened the closet door, walking briskly down the hall while he followed behind.

"If you think this is over, you are more wrong than anyone who's ever insulted me!" I told him angrily.

"If you don't like the card, then give it back," he retorted calmly, grabbing my arm and pulling me along beside him when I made a right instead of a left.

"No, it's mine," I told him, clutching the card tighter in my hand, "and if you tell anyone I cried I'll kick you. I'll break my foot, but I _will_ do it," I threatened while he in turn replied with a polite "yeah, yeah." I scowled but kept my mouth shut, knowing even the most detailed threats would do jack shit. Pretty soon we rounded another corner and the familiar slicked back, bright blonde hair atop my big brother's head came into view in the middle of a moderately short corridor.

"So, what are you gonna name the little tyke?" I asked aloud, startling Patrick out of his small reverie as he stared at the glass viewing window with a cross between worry and giddiness on his face.

"Finally! What were you two doing that was taking so long?" he asked, turning partially away from the glass window to address us properly.

"Same old, same old. I stole his cigarettes; he chased me down with profanity. All very casual," I replied as a cover story, not willing to let any of my brothers know about my brief vulnerability—despite having probably had their own very brief moments of vulnerability in seclusion.

"That took half an hour?"

"She was crying," Shizuo said plain and clear despite my warnings. The expression on his face revealing that he thought nothing of it.

"Finally! For a minute there towards the end I actually thought you were still a stone-cold, hard ass," Patrick chuckled while I went from scowling at my boyfriend to my jerk of a big brother, jerking my shoulder against his side as I walked roughly past.

"So forgetting that, where is he? Front, back, left, or right?" I asked, pressing my hands and nose against the glass as Patrick came to stand beside me, pointer finger on the glass as he drew a line to the third row from the front.

"Fifth from the left. We decided on Yasushi. Suits him, you know?" From what I could see of the newborn, the name did suit, but whether his apparent quietness was because of a smooth delivery or genetics I wasn't quite sure. Nevertheless, my heart felt on the verge of over-flowing because of the swarm of lifting and falling emotions I was experiencing today, not to mention the craving for butterscotch pudding that was gnawing away at my stomach as I looked on at the small reddish face of my nephew. I felt a heavy pat on my shoulder and vaguely noticed that the hand belonged to Patrick.

"I'm going to go check on Mononoke. I'll be back lickety-split," he said, his hand falling away as he left to go to whatever recovery room they currently had her in. for another few minutes I continued to look at the new born baby my brother and Mononoke had just had; small chubby face and a rosy complexion, a small hat covering his baldish head while his small, fragile body was swaddled in warm clothing.

Would I ever have the chance to be a mom? To have my own child—my own flesh and blood—and watch them grow and laugh and play and in some way or another disappoint me? And if so, would I be any good at being a good mother? It was to my understanding that you learn as you go, but really that was a general fear of mine about child care.

Beside me I heard the click-clacking of Shizuo's shoes as came near and stood beside me, a slight rustle following as he put his hands in his pockets. Momentarily I wondered if I could create a family with Shizuo, have a baby by him and raise it with him. Of course, then I remembered that first we would have to enter into a sexual relationship and frankly I felt that it might be months, nay, years before we ever got to that stage of a physical relationship. But…a girl can dream, can't she? Even one who spent most of the time as a tomboy bitch?


	47. Chapter 47: This Means War

**You thought this would be over? Muahahaha! Never!...well, you know, eventually, just not now…Yeah…so, here's the new chapter, and in case you don't know I've started a Vampire Knight Takuma Ichijou romance story, The Nightingale Effect. So, you know, if you're a fan of him, check it out.**

Whirling colors and things that would make absolutely no sense in reality crossed my mind and pervaded every spare section of my brain. Two words in particular swirled around my unconscious noggin: the annoying words "get up". Get up? Yeah fucking right. Thirteen hours of sleep in the last five days entitles me to getting extra sleep whenever possible. But this person who insisted on my awakening, however, had other intentions, intentions that involved my body hitting the hard linoleum floor of the bakery. The sudden impact startled me awake—as well as my head hitting the floor—and I stared up in mild confusion at the short-haired brunette woman standing above me, a scowl on her face as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Trouble sleeping?" Kyoko asked, her singular expression of disapproval showing her "concern" over my current unusual sleeping habit. I stared up at her blankly before sitting up and rubbing the back of my head.

"You can say that."

"Well I don't think me and the five people in line who are too scared of you to wake you up appreciate that small fact." I looked through the glass case that simultaneously served as the cashier space and saw five different-aged people staring at me, as if I was nuts.

"If you all could just wait a second while I get my bearings, I'd be really appreciative," I said, giving them a reassuring smile. Although my smile turned into a grimace when Kyoko hooked her arms under my armpits and dragged me to my feet, setting my in front of the cash register and taking a step back to watch me like a hawk as I worked to fulfill everyone's needs and wants. As I worked on getting the price on a number of breads and pastries, I thought back to the reason I had had so little sleep the last few days, the reason being that I had gone to a funeral: my mother's funeral to be exact and the after effects were taking its toll on my psyche.

Nightmares, cold sweats, and, worst of all, panic attacks in the middle of the night. And violent ones at that considering Shizuo had to pin my arms to my sides when I almost broke his nose. Although considering the fact that he was near invincible, I doubt very much that I would have done any real damage, besides possibly breaking my hand again. _'What's the date today? Tue…Wednesday. Today's Wednesday. So that would make today…June 2__nd__? That sounds about right,'_ I thought to myself, finding that as I lost sleep, I also lost track of days. Five days ago had been a Friday, and that was the day of the funeral.

That night my second nephew had been born, Yasushi. Patrick had said it had suited him since as we looked through the glass window at the little tyke he had been quiet, but really I knew it was to honor Mom. After that we had left the hospital, my big brother's little family staying behind for very obvious reasons. Shizuo and I had to wait for awhile while my younger siblings came back from wherever they had gone—my best guess being to visit their girlfriends for comfort and/or things I'd rather not think about ever in a million years. That night progressed into different stages of grief/sadness. The first being the semi-silent ride home wherein the only sound passing through the car was a foreign rock song. The second being my Dad and older twin brothers coming home drunk with Designated Driver Sora.

There were many physical things I shared with my Dad: my hair color, my eye color, my tendency to freckle in direct sunlight, but our shared drunken states were something few of my other siblings possessed—although I wasn't totally sure about my under-aged brothers. So when my Dad came home in a more-than-melancholy attitude, I knew immediately he had been drinking Jack Daniels while with his brothers: a rotten move if their endgame was to have us—the legal drinkers—spend half the night drinking cheap booze in an effort to get him out of his extremely depressed state. The result being an extremely hung-over father with a temper rivaling my own when I was pissed off and sober. The outcome of my own night of binge-drinking being an unpleasant wakeup call from an annoyed boyfriend who insisted on leaving before one and a massive head-ache that insisted on being a bitch. The train ride home wasn't that great either considering Shinra wouldn't shut up for two seconds. Pretty much the only pleasant—and non-bloody—moment of that day (week) had been holding my baby nephew while he slept soundly.

Back in the present I remembered fondly his small, warm body bundled in a fluffy blanket while he napped, all the while Kyoko talked in my ear.

"So is there a reason for your cat naps or is it because…well…I'm sorry if I'm coming off a little strong, I really am worried about you." Her concern, while well meaning and appreciated, was not necessary, and since I sick of the small stream of pity she was giving off—mostly since it was starting to annoy and freak me out—I decided to put an immediate end to it.

"Just some slight sleep-panic attacks, but a friend of mine gave me these and I've been sleeping like my nephew ever since," I told her, taking from my jeans pocket a small orange bottle of sleeping pills. In my mind I tried to figure out when exactly Shinra had become my friend, but it might have been around the time he started helping me sleep. "They keep me healthy. They keep me sane—"

"They keep you from doing your job properly," Kyoko finished. Thankfully a baby's cries kept her from further scolding me and I was free to work my shift as usual. From there my day progressed as it normally would: work, lunch, end of shift clean-up, meet up with Shizuo and Tom-san, follow them around for few hours, then, since it was Wednesday, start my two weeks of pay-free work at the neighborhood gay club. In all honesty I had been looking forward to the flashing lights and pounding music—mostly anything that would keep my mind off…past events. The fact that I was regressing into a state of near helplessness pissed me off to level of self-hatred. But I digress, my roommate, however, did not, continuing to talk my ear off when the music wasn't and sliding drinks my way when it was. By the time I had finished my fourth tall glass of a tequila sunrise, I proclaimed myself cut off, if only because I wanted my wits unencumbered by a hangover when I repeated the process tomorrow.

"Minori, stop trying to get "Karin"-chan drunk, I've done that and it only makes your problems worse. She just needs to be around people who care about her and are willing to help." Naoki had said to him when Taka-chan tried to coax me into drinking a small shot. I still didn't know who in Naoki-san's life had died, but I didn't feel well enough to talk about death. I wasn't really sure when I would be.

"Karin-chan, Honey, how are you feeling?" he asked me, concern written all over his face. Forehead creasing in worry, eyebrows furrowed together and eyes reeking of a desire to help me in any way he could. My lips curved into a small, sad smile and I sighed, sliding the drink he didn't order towards him and patting his shoulder. His concern, while appreciated, wasn't needed as of yet, and I hoped that later on he would offer his help again. He really did remind me of my dog Scruffy, right down to those annoyingly pouty, brown eyes, scruffy appearance, and willingness to help.

Dismissing his downtrodden expression I moved on to a pretty brunette flagging me down and poured her a white Russian, continuing on until midnight when my shift ended and I was free to go. Nodding a quiet goodnight to the foreign bouncer—his ethnicity being something I wasn't one-hundred percent certain about despite knowing he was from somewhere in South America—I began walking, not towards home, or even towards Shizuo's, I just walked with no set place in mind.

My feet, despite having hurt the first few weeks, had grown to have a dull pain in my black, stiletto heels, the shoes making a _click-clack_ sound as I walked the sidewalks of the near-empty streets. In the type of neighborhood I was in, there was some person on every other street corner selling something—drugs, their body, there was one man selling faulty watches, the different numbered hands on them pointing at all directions—I passed by them all with a brief glance, absentmindedly wondering what wrong turns in life led them to now before getting rid of all those thoughts and walking past them quickly. A little while later I stumbled into Sunshine 60, various people milling about although there were far fewer people here than in the daytime—seeing as stores and shops tended to close before midnight.

"What's a beautiful woman like you doing out after midnight dressed like that?" a distinctly male voice asked to my immediate right, causing my spine to shiver in familiar annoyance and agitation. Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I sustained a grimace as I caught sight of his Eskimo jacket and red-brown eyes, the wolfish smirk making its gradual appearance as he saw the mood I was in.

"Beautiful? Really? Is that a compliment or an insult?" I asked him, crossing my arms and walking over to him, leaning my shoulder against the wall he was leaning against.

"Are you that depressed, Amai-chan? Or do you have low self-esteem?" he asked me good naturedly, his intent speaking otherwise.

I snickered under my breath, hanging my head in slight amusement before snapping my arm out and tightening my grip around his shirt's collar, pulling him down to my slightly elevated line of sight. "I don't know if you have some kind of death wish or not, but you must have some pretty big balls to show yourself in front of me again after that stunt you pulled, you arrogant son of a bitch," I snarled at him, shoving him away when his eyes showed mirth and his smile said he was delighted by my reaction.

"I love that tattoo by the way. Never expected to find something so girly on you."

My eyebrow twitched at the comment, but for now I decided to ignore it. "Anyway," he raised an eyebrow, smirk shrinking a bit as he waited for me to continue, "I suppose I should thank you a little, tiny bit for setting my relationship in motion. Even though you set it back two weeks," I muttered, folding my arms and looking away towards the trickle of people walking past us, distaste evident on my face.

I heard him chuckle humorlessly before he appeared in front of me, looming over my body while he placed his hands the wall on either side of my head, smirking mouth and daunting eyes displaying a mix of negative emotions. "You're disappointing me, Amai-chan, but at least you keep yourself from being boring. First was those two weeks you mentioned; have to say, I was more than disappointed that you didn't go in there and "storm the castle" much sooner. Can't really be helped since you are so ruled by your emotions, but I was expecting a different outcome than this. And then that comment you made before. Thanking me? Your happiness is inconsequential and meaningless to me. In the grand scheme of things, you're a pawn set to move in whichever direction I set you in."

I admit the "storm the castle" remark caught me off guard, but I played a poker face and narrowed my eyes at him. "So if my and Shizuo's happiness doesn't matter to you, what does that mean? That you'll try everything in your power in to make us hate each other? To make us break-up? 'Scuse me for saying so, but that sounds a bit too bitter ex-girlfriend-ish for you," I remarked looking him up and down, as if sizing him up.

"Don't put me at your level. Like I said, if you're happy or sad, it doesn't matter to me, only what you do matters," he explained, shoving off the wall and putting his hands in his pockets, as if he was getting ready to leave. I wouldn't let him have the chance to walk away from me first.

"Goodbye, Orihara-san. I hope you have pleasant nightmares," I turned away from him and headed towards a street, a very specific street in which a blond haired bartender resided. I got no more than five feet away from when he asked me a question though, and I, being the being the somewhat polite person that I am, stopped and inclined my head towards him, waiting for him to speak again.

"What do you know about the Dollars?"

I turned back and regarded him seriously, thinking that it was another insult he was throwing my way. "If you're asking if I know them after my two-plus years of living here, then sorry to disappoint you, but yes, I do know of them. Did you ask just to mock me?"

"What do you know of their leader?" he asked me, leaning back on his heels although he seemed to be leaning forward.

I looked at him as if he had somehow gotten even weirder and more random, considering the topic we were talking about earlier had almost nothing to do with street gangs. "Considering I'm not part of the Dollars, I don't really know anything about either him or them," I answered coolly, hating how he seemed to be getting happier by the minute.

"Would you like to be part of it? I've heard that the leader will accept anyone," he continued, stepping closer to my back as I continued to face away from him.

"I didn't give up my seat just so I could be someone else's lackey. Especially to a bunch of punk teenagers," I answered honestly, turning my head to face forward once again, dismissing his offer. I couldn't see it, but I knew that he was grinning, like he always did.

"We'll see about that, Amai-chan. You'll never know what side you choose until you're on them after all."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I turned around but found that, as suddenly as he had appeared, he had disappeared, as if he were smoke in thin air.

'_I might be the most recognizable bitch in Ikebukuro, but I'd rather be transparent, not a recognizable person in a transparent gang. That said I'd rather not be a transparent person in a recognizable gang either. Yeah.'_

_DRRR!_

I'm not sure if what I was doing qualified as stalker behavior; to me it was just a useful skill a superspy or my big brother would use. To the guy I was currently dating, I was a stranger breaking into his apartment. Although really I just blamed myself. What kind of idiot didn't take off their fake, blond wig after ending their shift at their neighborhood gay club before breaking into their boyfriend's apartment because they didn't have a key? It's not like he hadn't offered me one the fourth or fifth time I had done this, I just refused since I didn't want him to go through the trouble of having a copy made—added to the fact that I didn't want my lock-picking skills to get rusty. This time however he had put his foot down and strongly "encouraged" me to use a key.

"Why do I need a key? It's not like I'm over here that often," I reasoned, blood rushing to my head as I hung upside-down by the only leg I hadn't managed to injure while in Ikebukuro. Shizuo disagreed however with true facts and a snarling face.

"You sleep here four times a week, and break in without even knocking, and you don't think you need a _key?!_ _Just take the damn key and stop waking me up in the middle of the night!_" he yelled, raising me higher so my natural red hair was no longer skimming the wooden floor and I was no looking at his shins; although the place I was now looking at was no better, considering I was looking at his belt buckle. Wait.

'_Belt buckle? Wait, why's he in his bartender get-up?'_

"What are you still doing up? It's, like, two in the morning," I stated matter-of-factly, trying my "best" to look away from the pant zipper and trying my darndest to resist the urge to pull it down just to make him mad. He winced slightly at the observation having been caught in a lie and lowered me down, my head knocking against the floor with the rest of my body following soon after. I sat up, rubbing my head as Shizuo crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes down at me. "Late night at work?" He nodded his head slightly and reached down to pull me up by my shirt collar, the shirt edge riding up my abdomen and back.

"Is that your tattoo?" he asked suddenly, his rough hand on my hip while his thumb rubbed over a strip of skin containing a portion of the center solar panel and petals of the sunflower tattooed on the back of my left hip, moving the edge of my dress pants out of the way in the process. Although the blood was draining back into my body, some of it remained in my face to color my cheeks as I hastily pulled down the back of my shirt out of reflex.

"Hey! This show ain't for free, Blonde. Put me down and _maybe_ I'll let you have a peek," I demanded, pulling the edge of my white-collared shirt well over my butt and pushing away his prodding hand. He hesitated but complied, his curiosity tipping the scale in my favor of being back on my own two feet. I straightened out my uniform and dusted myself off before bending down and swiping the blond wig from its place upon the floor. "Okay, one: next time you do that, you'll be looking _up_ at me from the _floor._ Two: my tattoo is _not_ a tramp stamp since it's on the back of my hip. Three: there is no deeper meaning to it other than the fact that it is my favorite flower and it is _awesome_. Agree to these and I'll show you." He nodded his agreement and I turned to face the door, my back to him as I put my hands on my hips and gripped the bottom edge of my shirt before stalling and turning my head around to look at him. "Before I show you a private part of myself which would you be comfortable seeing, bra or panties?" I asked him seriously, a straight expression on my face as his morphed into one taken aback by the simple question.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" he asked exasperated, taking a step back and looking at me as if I was crazy.

"It's three inches in diameter, Shizuo, and these are high-waist pants," I reasoned, pulled up the back as much as the black vest-bodice would allow and showing him how high up the pants went on my waist. I didn't know what to expect by doing so, honestly I didn't think I'd get much of a reaction besides an irritated growl and a frantic attempt to look away from my wriggling butt—at first it was a simple trick to make him embarrassed—but as he simply stared at the inept display until I stopped and dropped my shirt, forcing him to flick his eyes back to mine before scoffing and looking away at nothing in particular. The only clue I received to his being even slightly embarrassed—at being caught staring or otherwise—were his slightly tinted ears. "So which is it, bra or panties?" I asked him once again, earning another growl of frustration immediately followed by a sharp turn on his heels. "So I guess that's a 'no' on seeing me half-naked then?" I asked, being my usual obnoxious self before flinching a bit at the slam of his bedroom door. "Well…that sure doesn't help my self-esteem."

I stood there awkwardly for a while, unsure of what to do short of leaving and getting three hours of sleep. Either here or there it wouldn't make much of a difference to the extreme sleep deprivation and slight case of insomnia. Looking around the dark, sparsely furnished apartment, I decided to make the best of a bad situation and walked blindly towards the low coffee table. Tossing the wig down, I kneeled down and curled up between the coffee table and the cabinet that the TV sat on, laying my head on the blond wig and using it as a small defense against the cold wood floor. Did I expect to just sleep on the floor? It wasn't like I hadn't done it before, and it wasn't the worst place I ever slept—looking at you time Patrick dared me to sleep in the hay stack and "forgetting" to tell me it was molding. Luckily I didn't have to spend more than two minutes on the ground since a little while later I heard a door open and a gruff voice ask me a question.

"What the hell are you doing on the floor?" I lifted my head up off the ground and stared at his silhouette against his bedroom light for a second before answering him.

"I thought you were mad at me so I decided to wait here and ambush you with kindness in the morning. Plus I decided to take the lazy option rather than go home." Since it was dark I didn't know what type of face he was making, but depending on the scoff he gave my explanation, he wasn't too pleased.

"Just get in here and go to sleep already, dumbass," he hissed, stepping aside and leaning his back against the door jamb while I hastily got up at the sight of the lovely bed tucked away in the far corner.

As I approached him I took note of the grey sweatpants and tank top he now wore as his sleepwear having changed—apparently—out of his usual day-time clothes, remarking lightly to myself that I missed seeing his shins and knees—since the first time I had really seen them were when he wore my brothers pants as a substitute until my "business" in Hokkaido was finished. As I passed by him I took care to tell him how I felt about five minutes earlier. "How am I the dumbass? I'm not the one who turned down seeing their girlfriend half-naked."

"I already know I'm a dumbass, so I'll just say it again: dumbass! If you're going to show it then don't ask stupid questions, and if you're self-conscious about it then don't do it at all!" he ranted, slamming the door closed behind me as soon as I was inside. I'm sure he could've gone on longer, melding together the time, necessity for sleep and circling back to my "habit" of breaking and entering, but he stopped when I unknotted and loosened the ties on the back of the black vest-bodice, and ripped the constricting material from my body and let it drop to the floor unceremoniously. "What are you doing?"

I looked at him over my shoulder and gave him a bored/isn't-it-obvious look. "I told you, I don't like sleeping in my day clothes. And I suppose I owe you after breaking in and keeping you up. So here," I hooked my thumb into the edge of my dress pants and pulled them down to the edge of my panties, while simultaneously pulling the bottom edge of my shirt up to my waist, "have as long a look as you like, as long as long means ten seconds."

Counting down in my head I let him stare, look, whatever it was he was doing as I stood there with my half my shirt up and a small part of my pants down. Around the forth second I felt his hands on my waist as his left thumb caressed the inked skin on my hip. "When did you get it?" he asked, tracing over the multiple, overlapping yellow petals.

"About four years ago. And you're ten seconds are up, so can I borrow a shirt? Yes or no?" I asked, letting my head my drop backwards so I could look up at him, his hands stilling on my waist before releasing them and going to the dresser beside the door. While his back was turned I unbuttoned my shirt halfway before abandoning the rest of the buttons and pulling the whole thing over my head, shaking it out a few times to get rid of any unwanted wrinkles before folding it up and laying it on top of the dresser, his shocked and embarrassed expression at my partially-covered chest making me smile and grab the plain white tee from his hand, pulling it on over my head and making sure it covered my groin area before shimmying down my pants and folding them up as well, removing my cell and my lock pick-picking kit from its pocket.

"Why don't you just keep some clothes over here? It'd be easier," he grunted, leaving out "on me" at the end of his sentence.

"Because," I started, folding back the thin sheet and slipping gleefully onto the welcoming mattress, tossing my phone and kit onto the bedside table, "even though I'm here four out of seven days, I don't live here," I answered, scoffing at the mere suggestion—even though it'd be easier on me as well. As much as I liked using Shizuo's shirt to sleep, for strict comfort reasons and the fact that I liked how he smelled, the underlying smell of nicotine posed a distinct threat to my lungs. Shizuo made a face in response before flipping the light switch and setting the room into quiet darkness. One side of the bed sank as he sat down and the cover rose and fell as he lied back and pulled it over him before turning to face away from me.

I let my head fall back on the pillow provided and sighed comfortably to myself, letting my body sink into the mattress and my mind drift to a close before I suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot," I said quietly aloud, making the man next to me shift slightly as he looked at me over his shoulder. "I met your favorite person today, and no, I'm not talking about your brother—" I didn't get a chance to continue as low sounding growl and a loud squeal and ripping sound as springs threatened to break and fabric started to tear at the seams. Immediately I started back pedaling and—much like an octopus—wrapped my limbs around his waist and arms, hoping to stop the unintentional damage I had brought.

"Hey, come on. Don't go to sleep angry. I did _not_ mean anything by it," I told him, nestling my chin in the crook of his neck and—since my hands were distracted what with trying to pry his fingers from the mattress and bed frame—bite his earlobe, yanking on it slightly and hoping that the improvisation would still trigger the calming effect. To my luck it did, allowing me to unbind his fingers and remove my teeth and mouth. My bite mark, however, would stay there for a while, my only hope being that no one would notice since his hair partially covered his hair now.

"It's not important right now. Just go to sleep. Go to sleep and dream of simple things, less annoying things. Calmer things…ZZZ." This was something mom used to do to my siblings and I. Using a hypnotic, monotone voice she'd say simple phrases and commands and lull us to sleep whenever we were too hyped up on anything and everything. I was a fool thinking I could duplicate the process when I myself was on the verge of crashing; hopefully it worked on Shizuo, too.

_DRRR!_

_Bzzt. Bzzzzzzt. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT! _There was a fly in my dream. A really annoying fly. It continued to sound in my ear until a slap was heard, but then it turned into a muffled buzzing sound.

"Who the hell is this?" a deep voice asked, groggy and in no mood for the buzzing what-chi-ma-call-it. "No, this is her phone. Hold on," the deep voice said again. Silence followed it and I drifted back further into the fluffy whiteness surrounding me. A tap to my shoulder—a really hard tap—pulled me out of the lovely whiteness and into the mild grayness of Shizuo's early-morning bedroom. "Phone," he said gruffly, sleep and other such nonsense clotting his voice as he held the phone over his shoulder for me to take. He went into a small coughing fit then and said again in a more clear voice, "I think it's your boss." Concerned and groggy, I took the cell out of his hand held it to my ear, opening and squinting my eyes at the small amount of sunlight that intruded into the room.

"Miss Yuumi?" I asked sleep seeping into the simple words.

"_Amai? Goodness gracious, how long have you been asleep?"_ Miss Yuumi asked mild concern and sternness filling her voice.

"Depends on what time it is, but since you're calling, I'm guessing I'm late for my shift," I answered, wriggling this way and that as I removed my right arm from beneath me and set it on Shizuo's back, rubbing it soothingly as he coughed thickly once again.

"_Okaa-sama, she's been taking drugs. She's probably just slept in,"_ a cool, feminine voice said in the background, alerting Miss Yuumi to the possibility that I was becoming a druggie.

"_Amai! Have you been taking drugs?! For shame, Amai, I thought you know better that that," _Miss Yuumi admonished, the old woman going into guilt mood immediately.

"They're just sleeping pills, Miss Yuumi. Nothing illegal I assure you." As far as I know, seeing as I got them from an underground doctor.

"_Maybe you should take the day off, Amai. You've gone through something horrible, you deserve it."_ At the sound of hearing that I might lose a half-day's worth of pay I shot into a seated position and spoke clearly and loudly into the phone.

"No way! I've had enough days to deal with it, and there's no way in hell I'm taking today off. I'll just say it, I need the money, even if it is a pittance compared to what I used to get…" around then the strength I had to sit up straight left me and I fell back to earth, the jolt earning a squeal of springs as I hit the mattress. "Well…is it alright if I come by before rush hour and worked till four? I wouldn't mind catching up a bit on sleep," I asked pathetically, rolling onto my side and curling into a tight ball against Shizuo's back, the small amount of body heat he gave off countering the chill of the eight-o'-clock morning. Miss Yuumi chuckled at my one-eighty spin and agreed heartily, hanging up on my sleep deprived self. Half crawling over Shizuo's half-asleep body to put the phone back on the misused bedside table, I vaguely wondered when and if Shizuo was working today despite the late hour he had gotten home at, but dismissed it as his arm slid out from under my body and wrapped around my waist, pulling me fully over him and crushing me flush against his chest.

I looked up at his face and found that despite his eyes being closed and his heart beating at a normal, steady rate, his face showed that he was perturbed at the disturbance in REM sleep. Taking this as an opportune moment, I wrapped my arms and legs around him again—much like last night—and nestled into his chest, catching a few moments of restful silence before being startled awake by a loud rattling cough, followed immediately by being crushed when he practically rolled over me and grabbed a waste basket sitting on the other side of his bedside table, spitting something out that sounded as gross as it probably looked. With my face pressed against his chest it was easy for me to hear his slightly elevated heart rate and the miniscule inflation of his chest as he breathed in. It was then that I decided to do something that could possibly put the lives of everyone in Ikebukuro in danger, but that didn't matter one bit to me since I favored him living forever—despite other nameless people wishing he would just disappear. I was going to help (force) Shizuo to stop smoking, no matter the dangers, no matter the…who was I kidding, there was only danger in this endeavor. This…

'_This means war.'_


	48. Chapter 48: Friendly Advice and a Ride

"IT'S A BOY! I'M HAVING A BABY BOY! WOOHOO!"

"So, are you regretting it yet?"

"A BOY! WAHAHAHA!"

"It comes and goes but the reactions are amusing at least," Misako told me, watching slightly exasperated as Kichiro bounced up and down in sheer joy and happiness around us.

"So I have a quick question."

"Hmm?"

"A couple months ago Kichiro said he had to sign something he didn't want to sign. If I'm right in thinking it was contract, then I'd like to know what were the terms of it are?" I asked her before swallowing a mouth full of curry bread, a swallow full of soda quickly chasing it down.

"Pretty standard since it's the same agreements you'd find in shared custody between a divorced couple, with the added benefit of him staying loyal to only me and spending four days out of the week at my place. It'll be like we're living together but I get my space from his jackassery for the other three days," she explained, munching thoughtfully on melon bread as Kichiro nearly fell into the fountain.

"Why so specific?"

"Just between you and me," she started, leaning closer to me as Kichiro retreated back to us after a policeman—who had conveniently been walking through the park—berated him about his behavior, "Colm-kun asked me to keep him during the weekends plus Mondays so he could spend that time with his girlfriend without Kichiro interrupting."

I chuckled despite myself, knowing full well how annoying and intrusive Kichiro was when it came to mocking his siblings. While I finished off my curry bread I watched, amused, as Kichiro and Misako interacted, him trying to make her happy, and she feigning annoyance. Kichiro and Colm had returned to Ikebukuro several days after I had—about a day after I had declared my second war on cigarettes—resuming their continued studies at Tokyo U after chocking on the Bar. Today—two days after my declaration of war—however was a day off for them—and me—and while Colm had decided to spend it elsewhere, Kichiro had taken it upon himself to visit his favorite sister…or so he had said. Really, I think he was using me because of my new found sisterly connection to Misako-chan to get in good with her, what with them living in different districts of Tokyo and the somewhat minor second-degree burn wrapping around his neck clueing Misako into what she liked to call his "not-so-hidden-playboy-side". Little did she know the burns were most likely caused by revenge via everyone who had a grudge against his obnoxious self.

"Huuh~ don't you worry about anything, baby. I'll always be there to help you and care for you and love you forever~" Kichiro said lovingly so unlike himself that for a minute I actually mistook him for Colm, nuzzling one side of his face against her large, rounded stomach while simultaneously hugging her awkwardly around her waist.

"Tch, I've heard that before. Don't make promises you can't keep, Kichiro," Misako told him bitterly, venom practically dripping from her mouth.

"Come on, Misako-chan, I've already told you how sorry I am for leaving you alone at the Ruri Hijiribe concert, but there was there was this…I said I was sorry!" Kichiro reasoned, cutting himself off from saying something along the lines of "sexy brunette/hot chick/gorgeous black-haired beauty".

"That's not what I was referring to, but thank you for reminding me," she said through gritted teeth, eyes darkening even more, as if that were possible.

"Misako-chan~ come on, don't be like that. Listen, he is an asshole. And you don't need him. Look at what you've done on your own! It's awesome and so are you," I supplied, trying my meager best to save Kichiro from his faux pas.

"Pregnant with a playboy's child? Yeah, that's really awesome," she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the both of us.

"More so I was referring to your job."

"Oh yeah, that is cool. You know all the stars, like that one guy, umm, what's his name…the super famous guy, Yuu-something…"

"Hanejima-san? Oh yeah! That reminds me, he's actually coming here to film a couple scenes for a new movie," Misako added absentmindedly, losing her steam almost instantaneously.

"Cool, do ya think we'll see him, Amai?"

"I dunno. With my schedule I doubt I'll even be up for work tomorrow," I sighed, letting my head fall back to hit the back rest of the metal bench Misako and I were currently sitting on, taking small note of the floating clouds and the irritating heat that was making me sweat through the obnoxiously thin t-shirt I was wearing. "Well!" I shouted abruptly, standing up and stretching my arms well above my head, "I gotta go meet someone for something important. Catch ya on the flip side." I waved goodbye as I walked towards the entrance/exit of West Gate Park, momentarily stopping to reassess where the hell Shinra lived based on the few times I had been there.

'_Maybe I should just call him, but then again I don't have his number. I could call Shizuo and ask, but he's probably busy. I should have just written his address down,'_ I thought to myself, deciding to go left for now, knowing that the possibility of me finding the apartment building on my own were slim at best.

Luckily my random walking was not in vain since a few blocks later I heard the distinctive spine-chilling whiny of Celty's motorcycle and after getting rid of my lingering feelings of fear I turned and found the black garbed Dullahan driving down the street, raised my hand and waved it erratically, shouting for her to stop. I don't whether she saw or heard me—seeing as she possessed no head whatsoever, a fact that left me curious and, let's face it, a little frightened—but she seemed to when she slowed down and stopped beside me, leaning back on the seat and taking out her PDA, typing on it a bit before showing me the screen.

**[Hi, Amai. What's up?]**

"Hi, um, can you give me Kishitani-san's number? No, actually, can you give me you guys' address? I need to ask him a series of questions that would be better answered in person," I explained, chalking up my nerves to childhood fears caused by jerk-brothers. She nodded her helmet and started typing again, this time longer than before.

**[I can give you the address but it's kind of far…do you want a ride? I don't have much work today so I can if you want.]** She asked me.

I hesitated for a moment, weighing petty fears against the need of not killing my feet. In the end my need to save my feet won out and I nodded my agreement, awkwardly getting on and straddling the pitch black piece of machinery and familiar and tentatively took the helmet she gave me from her black-gloved hand, the sleek black exterior of the dome reflecting no light, as if it were made of shadows. I snorted in humor at the lame metaphor since in actuality it was true. Before me, Celty turned her helmet as if to look at me with see-through eyes and held up her PDA, a small message set against the background.

**[What's wrong?]**

I smiled at the question before bending over slightly and pulling the helmet on, swiping my red hair from my vision before wrapping my arms around her stomach. "Nothing, just thinking about how insane this city has made me," I answered as she kicked up the kickstand and revved the engine, a moaning whinny letting lose as we took off down the street before she executed a wide U-turn and sped down the way I had come. Mentally I smacked myself upside the head—since I couldn't very well do it with my arms squeezing Celty so tightly as to not fall off—and regretted my earlier decision of going left. However, if I hadn't gone left then there's a good chance I might not have met up with Celty, and I wouldn't have had this chance to grow more used to, and more comfortable with, my childhood fear, and gradually turn her from a monster-in-my-closet to a close friend.

_DRRR!_

"Ki~shi~tan~i~-san~" I sang, knocking on the door periodically while I waited impatiently in the hallway. Beside me the elevator doors closed, empty, since Celty had sped off as soon as a delivery job came in via mail. Sighing through my nose, I leaned against the door and softly banged my head against it as a substitute for knocking. My body fell however when he opened the door to my surprise, and I fell into him and knocked him down with him. Luckily my head was saved from a hard landing since it hit against his squishy abdomen making for a soft fall, although my back landed on his legs wrong and the back of my thighs hit his toes, poking into them with some discomfort, although maybe his landing was more painful than my own.

"Kishitani-san, you still alive?" A resounding groan answered me and he shifted, seemingly struggling to sit up. I immediately got off his lower body and turned part way to see him, watching motionless as he lifted himself to a semi-sitting/leaning-back position.

"Don't worry, Amai-chan, Celty's been helping me strengthen my abdominal muscles, so I'm fine," he said, finishing with a small whine as he curled into himself and clenched his stomach. In my defense I don't think I hit him all that hard, then again thanks to high school biology and my jerk brothers, I know that the human head weighs about ten pounds and that my head is made of "lead".

'_Note to self, punch Kichiro for making up such a lame rhyme.'_

"Well, if punching you is training for muscle improvement, when can I start helping?" I asked, getting to my feet before pulling on Shinra's arm and bringing him up to my level…sort of since he was unfortunately taller than me.

"Oh, no, that's okay; you don't need to trouble yourself."

"It'd be no trouble at all. I can start right now."

"Umm…is everything alright? No broken limbs? Do you need a refill on sleeping pills?" he asked trying to change the subject.

"Just some friendly advice on an important topic and a few pointers for someone's benefit would be nice," I answered, gladly taking the change in topic. He tilted his head cutely to the side in an inquisitive move before gesturing for me to leave the doorway and follow him into the apartment. While he went to the kitchen—to make tea or some such—I went to the living room, plopping myself onto the plush white couch and sinking gleefully into the cushions until Shinra interrupted my delightedness with his words, calling me back to my original purpose for being here.

"So, Amai-chan, what would you like to talk about?" he asked, handing me a mug before sitting down beside me, his pleasant grin practically shining on his face.

I looked at him dully and slowly sipped my tea, the hot liquid doing nothing for an equally hot day, but perfectly counteracting the AC chill inside the apartment. "Kishitani-san, how hard is it for someone to quit smoking?" I asked him, waiting patiently as he processed the question, a hand to his chin in thought as he worked on an appropriate answer.

"It depends on the dependency and how long a person has been addicted, but I've heard that it is really hard," he finally said, pointer finger in the air as if he were listing off items.

"But how hard is hard?"

"Hmm~ like, say a friend dared you to refrain from doing or seeing something you love and do or see every day for a month. It'd be really hard then, wouldn't it," he explained, giving a bit of a shudder at the end of his analogy. Most likely he was thinking of Celty and not seeing her everyday like he always does. Actually, now that I think about it, how did he survive those four days in Hokkaido?

'_Depending on his reaction from earlier, he must have tried to tackler her for a hug or was really annoying. Celty doesn't really hold back when she hits him, huh?'_

"Kishitani-san, give me some examples of how someone can quit."

There was a moment of silence as he processed this as well, and then that annoyingly bright smile appeared on his face as he asked me, "Are you asking so you can help Shizuo, Amai-chan?"

"I said I wanted some advice. This is just to satisfy my own curiosity," I bit while drinking more of my tea, glaring over the rim of my mug as he laughed nervously before clearing his throat, taking a sip from his own mug.

"How would you go about an addiction, Amai-chan?" he asked me, seemingly sobering up from his ever present go-lucky attitude, changing into an actual professional doctor.

I thought about his question for a moment, sorting through various, tedious lessons and online courses for information I had somehow soaked up during those few years. Biology, chemistry, psychology, sociological tendencies…No. I don't think the regular methods would work. "Cold turkey wouldn't work on a guy like Shizuo, it'd be too…haphazard. And since I'm the one forcing it on him, I'll have to take responsibility for his actions under my watch. No…I think weaning would be the better solution," I said, downing the rest of my drink and setting aside the mug. I looked over then and saw Shinra's quizzical face, and found that I was prompted to answer the question he didn't say aloud. "Kishitani-san, I swear, if I have to explain to you—a _doctor_—what weaning is, I'll punch you like Celty."

"I know what it is, Amai-chan, I'm just impressed you thought of it. I wonder if it will work on Shizuo though."

"He can't handle the withdrawal symptoms with the "Cold Turkey" method. It's better if he gradually lessens his addiction. Plus it'll give me time to think of a more healthy stress reliever."

"So when are you going to discuss this with Shizuo?"

"Later next week probably, I still need to find the correct words so I can easily win the argument."

"Don't you think you should start the process sooner though?" he asked, worry worming its' way onto his face.

"Huh?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at him, surprised to see such a face on him. "No, I already started," I told him, digging through my shorts pockets and pulling out more than a dozen cigarette sticks before dropping them into my lap to dig through my pocket once again. "Ya see, I calculated how many cigarettes Shizuo has per day, and figured out a more comfortable amount, so left five in his pack to take without him knowing, and just to make sure he doesn't buy more I stole his wallet for good measure. Pretty smart right? So then in a week or two I'll decrease the amount again after we've talked!" I explained, holding up Shizuo's wallet as proof, the idea making me all giddy and shit.

Shinra smiled at my happy face and nodded his approval before saying something that stopped my good mood altogether. "So what's your plan for Tom-san?"

"…Tom…wha?" I said incoherently, my smile dropping a little at the corners as he started to explain a major dilemma.

"Tom Tanaka. Shizuo's partner, remember? Dreadlocks, wears a suit, works as a debt collector with Shizuo as his muscle? He smokes to, you know. He's probably lending him some smokes or some money for a pack right now—hey! Where are you going, Amai-chan?!" he asked as I stood up abruptly, the cigarettes dropping from my lap as I stuffed Shizuo's wallet back in my pocket and extracting my cell phone as I headed to the door.

"Come on, come on—Ah! Dota-chin! I need you guys to give me a ride to Russia Sushi. Can you swing by Kishitani-san's place?" I asked him, phone pressed to my ear as I struggled to put on my shoes before hopping into the hallway on one leg, Shinra all the while asking me when I'll come by again and what he should do with the cigarettes.

Unfortunately for me, Kadota flat out refused to abide by my request and hung up on me, causing me to scoff in frustration before dialing another number. "Throw 'em, burn 'em, stick 'em in a shoe, I DON'T CARE! Just get rid of them so no one else can use them! Ah! Walker-chwan? It's meee~ Amai-chan! Walker-chwan~ can I ask you a favor?" I started, adopting my best "little sister" voice, playing on his fetish so I could exploit his connections to the main driver of the gang.

"_Amai-chan! W-what do you need?" _ He asked, stuttering at the cute nickname.

"I need a ride to Russia Sushi, but Dota-chin said no~ can you convince him and Saburo-san for me pleaseee~ Walker-chwan~? Oh! And could you please put Erika-san on the phone, pleaseee~?" I asked before wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder and punching Shinra's arm after his failed attempt to hide his snickering.

"_Will do, Amai-chan!"_ he agreed wholeheartedly before passing the phone, Erika's voice invading my eardrum as I stepped into the elevator and waved a half-hearted goodbye to Shinra as the doors closed the steel box dropped steadily.

"Erika, I have a story about my little brother, a closet at my Grandma's nursing home, and cute intern with your name on it if you help Walker convince Saburo and Dota-chin to swing by Kishitani-san's place to pick me up and drive me down to Russia Sushi," I bargained, picking the least embarrassing and most vanilla story from my brother's life possible.

"_Deal deal deal!"_ she agreed frantically before hanging up. I smiled inwardly at the thought of an irate Saburo and an aggravated Dota-chin, happy for a small moment that I had gotten a small amount of petty-revenge for refusing my then simple request.

_DRRR!_

"—he was so embarrassed he ended up spending the rest of the visit hiding in the linen closet. When we went to get him so we could go home, he was wrapped in extra blankets and made a mini-fort out of a walker and extra pillows," I laughed, Erika laughing with me as Walker covered her ears in an attempt to block out Erika's yaoi paradise. Ahead of us, Saburo glared holes out the windshield as we sat at a red light, beside him Dota-chin stared dourly out the side window. Several dozens of minutes earlier, they had arrived, stopping beside the entrance of the apartment complex where I waited semi-patiently, the sliding door of the van sliding open with only Walker and Erika's grinning faces greeting me as I slid in, squeezing myself in between the two of them as Saburo and Kadota glared daggers at me, to which I replied by sticking my tongue out at them childishly.

"Okay, we're here. Now get the hell out of my van!" Saburo rudely said, turning around in his seat to address me fully with a deadly stare.

"Alright, alright, I'm leaving. Thanks for the ride by-the-by," I said simply as Erika slid open the door and let me crawl over her and fall ungracefully to the sidewalk, the van's tires squeezing noisily as soon as I was clear of the back tires. The door slid back into place while Saburo sped away, and I watched mutely as he turned a corner sharply, the van nearly toppling before he landed the move. "So rude," I remarked to no one other than myself, getting to my feet and brushing myself off and readjusting my fedora, ignoring the stares of several passing people as I squinted past the reflections on the glass doors to the people inside the…"fine" establishment. A few hours earlier I had called Shizuo with a request of a lunch date with the sole purpose of assessing the state of his near-empty pack and his current temperament…as well as going on a date.

He had refused, however, due to the aggravating fact that he was going to Russia Sushi for lunch with Tom, leaving me to make plans for a small lunch with Misako and Kichiro—who had at that moment not known the gender of his baby.

'_This is not revenge. I am just returning his wallet. That's the excuse and I'm sticking to it until I steal Tom's cigarettes,'_ I thought to myself, reaffirming my reason for being here so my feelings of slight rejection would taint this noble endeavor.

I stepped through the glass door, the bell at the top ringing prettily and making my presence known to the employees inside. "Miss Amai, so good seeing you in long time! Come in, come in, eat sushi, yes?" Simon said in that deep, throaty, accented voice of his. Across from him sat Tom and Shizuo, a few dishes of heal-eaten sushi sitting in front of them as they looked towards the door at the short, red-headed woman, i.e. me.

"Ahhhh, yeah, I could go for some yellowtail. Just a small plate though, I'm leaving in a few minutes," I said walking further in until I was right next to Tom, fully ignoring his slightly annoyed expression as I leaned my hip against the counter and talked across him to Shizuo. "Weird coincidence seeing you guys here, huh? Totally didn't expect it," I lied, knowing full well that Shizuo knew I was lying.

"No it's not, I told you we'd be here," he said, affirming my suspicions.

"Ah~ caught me. Here, you left your wallet at home." I leaned across Tom, invading his personal space and took the black leather wallet out of my pocket as I did and handed it to him, picking Tom's pockets as I did, only to be severely disappointed when all I got was his wallet and his lighter. This actually wasn't much of a disappointment since I was going to take it anyway since I couldn't have him buying more cigarettes and lending them to Shizuo when he craved them.

"Why didn't you bring it earlier? I've been needing it all day!" he said angrily, swiping it from my hand and pocketing it without a glance to its contents.

"I would've brought it if you had agreed to my lunch date, but you didn't. So really, it's your fault," I reasoned, getting out of Tom's personal bubble as my small order of sushi came, his relief and annoyance clear on his face and in his voice as he sighed before pushing a piece of salmon into his mouth. _'The cigarettes are probably in his breast pocket. Stupid suit making my job ten times harder,'_ I thought dejectedly while chewing on a piece of yellowtail, _'Well, desperate times call for desperate measures.'_

"Oh, hey Tom, since you're here and all, can I ask teensy-weensy favor?" I asked, clasping my hands together as a means of begging. He looked at me wearily before asking me what it was. "I need a small extension on my next payment day, all I need is a few…weeks," I asked before he ultimately blew up, saying loudly that I had exceeded the maximum amount of his patience for me, and some such about forbidding me from using my status as his body-guard/enforcement's girlfriend to my advantage—not that I had ever used it before since I made it my point of pride to pay whatever I could when they both came around to my work places without making a fuss that the guy I was dating was taking my money.

"Come on, Tom-san! I'm working for no pay at my second job, I'm getting a pay cut at the bakery because her daughter is working there too, and despite not having a legal contract with my building's slum lord, I'm still paying rent! Cut me some slack for a few weeks until I get the other half of my pay check back!" I reasoned, trying my hardest _not_ to make myself look pathetic.

"Look, I see that the last few months have been pretty hard on you, especially the thing with your mom," my eyes narrowed and I flicked them towards Shizuo who had "conveniently" turned away from our conversation, "but here's the thing, if I cut _you_ slack, then I'm gonna have to cut _everyone_ slack, and if I do that then we won't get our money, and when the Boss man asks us where the money is, then I'm gonna have to explain who started all this in the first place. And then the interest starts getting raised, and you end up penniless with a huge debt riding your ass, and we're left feeling bad because we cut you some slack in the first place. So it'll be much easier on all of us if you just pay us whatever you got the next time you come around," he explained in a long-winded speech I only half-paid attention to since I was waiting for an opening to enact my plan.

When he seemed to have stopped talking I started my plan, swallowing the mouthful of raw fish in my mouth before forcing my tear ducts to start production and throwing myself on Tom, hugging him around his waist and blubbering about the need to pay bills and petty rent, the need to save myself from starvation while he fidgeted uncomfortably, trying to pry my arms off of him. Using this as a distraction, I felt around the inner pockets of his suit jacket, extracting from the left one the pack of cigarettes I sought. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist and I quickly palmed the pack as Shizuo lifted me off of Tom, setting me down on my feet a couple feet away and removed his arms from my body. His hands, however, never left my shoulders as pushed down on them to ensure that I didn't attack Tom again.

"Fine! Fine you debt-collecting bastard!" I shouted, reaching into my shorts to both pocket the cigarettes and extract Tom's wallet, covering up the front of it with my hands and bending over slightly so Shizuo wouldn't see the ID inside, "Take all the money I've got and don't come back until my next paycheck, got it?!" I snapped, shoving the entirety of the stolen wallet at him while he grinned stupidly at my angry and defeated face. Or what he thought was my angry and defeated face.

"Thank you very much, Amai-san," Tom said happily, making a small waving gesture with his hands before taking out a large money-pouch and counting out the wad in his hands. A moment later Shizuo's hands left my shoulders and he retreated like a trained dog to his seat. Suddenly I didn't feel so bad about stealing Shizuo's money.

"Leave some money for my food bill since that's all the money I've got," I sneered, backing towards the door as I made my slow and simple escape, "Shizuo, when you get home, I'll be waiting with an argument prepped and loaded, got it?" I ordered, slightly glaring at him as a piece of fatty tuna disappeared in his mouth.

"Do you have your key?" he asked well meaning, yet to me it sounded snarky.

"Yeah, yeah, I got my damn key. Here, see? Labeled and everything," I hissed, pulling out my small ring of keys and displaying the newest addition with the kanji for "jackass" on it. "Catch ya on the flip side, then," I called, turning on my heels and practically running out the door, stumbling a bit when I almost ran into someone walking in.

Right now it was one o'clock on a hot Saturday. I had no work to do at the Bakery since it was my day off, and my shift at Manho-ru didn't start until five. I could go see a movie, kill some time at the arcade, or practice my swing at the batting cages. The one thing I was sure of, however, was that I had to get out of the vicinity of this place before the two men inside discovered what I had done.

Shizuo's POV~

After running into a co-worker of ours coming in, she left, running one way before turning around and running back the other way, obviously confused about where to go to. If I remembered correctly she had the day off from her bakery job. Why didn't she just tag along like she always did then?

"So, you gave her the key to your place?" Tom asked, calling my attention away from the plate in front of me.

"Had to, she wouldn't stop breaking in otherwise," I answered, picking up another piece of weird looking sushi and sneering at the distinctive chicken smell. Simon was giving me his weird shit again.

"Heh, your girlfriend sounds like a real criminal. Careful or she'll steal your money someday," he laughed, handing our co-worker the money-pouch after ticking off Amai's remaining amount before resuming his meal while the co-worker left, our job for the day finished until tomorrow, making for a relatively short business day. I looked down at my plate again, feeling bad that I had to restrain Amai while she was crying, before something started bugging me. Since when does Amai cry when she's sober?

'_No, there was this other thing when she pulled some anime move and begged for the last cup of milk pudding in the fridge, but she was just fake crying.'_

"Shit!" I shouted, practically ripping the pocket of my slacks as I pulled out my wallet and opened it up, confirming what I already knew. Empty. The damn thing was empty. My hands shook and the black leather was pinched between my fingers as I fought to control my body from all out raging, yet all I could see was red.

"Shizuo? What's the matter?" Tom asked me, leaning forward a bit so he could see my face.

"She took…it all," I growled out between clenched teeth, the wicked smile on her face as she left making more sense as it flashed across my mind, making me all the more enraged.

"Guess she already stole it. Probably because you left it lying around, lucky me I'll never have that problem since I keep mine tucked away in my pocket all the time," he bragged, calling my attention back to Amai's unorthodox crying.

"Check your wallet."

"What?"

"Check. Your. Wallet," I said again. He looked at me quizzically before reaching into his pocket, feeling around before chuckling humorlessly and reaching into his other pocket, most likely finding nothing in either one before resorting to checking his jacket's inner pockets.

"That…_that bitch! She took everything! Even my god damn cigarettes!_ I bet she used our money to pay on her stupid debt, too!" Tom shouted, standing up from the stool he was sitting on and pounding his fists on the counter. As much as I wanted to relieve my anger, I couldn't since I would have no way of paying it off, and I couldn't smoke since I had smoked my last cigarette hours ago, and since Amai took my money I couldn't buy more. _Fuck!_ Maybe that's why she said she was preparing for an argument, because damn sure she was going to get one.

Not thinking, I stood up from the stool and walked quickly to the door, leaving Tom to settle the bill somehow while I went to hunt my girlfriend down and get my stuff back. As soon as I cleared the door I started running in the direction Amai had gone, unknowing if she had turned somewhere down the street or had doubled back without me seeing.

"_Aaaaamaaaaaaiii! Where are you, you bitch?!_" I shouted into the air after running for twenty minutes through a veritable maze, my question being answered by the person I was seeking.

"If you looked around a little more, you wouldn't need to ask that question, Shizuo-kun. And who gave you permission to use such language against your girlfriend?" she asked from behind me, voice slightly irritated. I turned slowly making sure I wasn't just hearing things, and saw her trademark red fedora and bright red hair, like the center of a flame, framing her face, leaf-green eyes showing her mild annoyance—at being caught or something I didn't know—and her face flushed with the endurance she put into running away in the first place.

I knew it was wrong. A man should never hit a woman, no matter how much she pissed me off. And this wasn't like the last time I had been around someone I liked, or even had a crush on, since I wasn't protecting her from some assholes hurting her, only to end up hurting her myself. This was just my anger at her brash actions and kleptomaniac self manifesting as an attack on her.

"_KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_"

I wish I was strong enough to control myself, then this wouldn't have happened.


	49. Chapter 49: Hospital Woes

**That moment when you figure out your OC character is OOC and you have to rewrite the whole damn thing so that they're not. That plus the recent discovery of how awesome Ladd Russo is. If you need me I'll be going through another Baccano! marathon.**

'_Were hospital ceilings always this white?'_

_**Click-click-click.**_

'_When was the last time I used an actual hospital bed?'_

_**Click-click-click.**_

'_When is this nurse going to stop with the Goddamn pen? So fucking annoying,'_ I thought, looking over at the young woman standing at the foot of my bed, looking over my file while clicking that infernal pen, looking bored as all get out. _'No, too young to be a nurse, she's probably an intern.'_

"So, Tachibana-san, you were in an accident?" she asked, never stopping her pen clicking as she looked over at me, her disinterest in my injury and myself saying everything about her personality.

'_I wonder if she's one of those people who get off on thinking themselves more important than the rest of us. What's the word…narcissistic? No, that's not it…um…'_

"Yeah, car accident," I confirmed earning a sneer as she looked back down at the chart. Yeah, even without mind-reading powers, I could tell what this bitch was saying: she's that bakery girl, the one crazy enough to date Shizuo Heiwajima. Tch, if she's dating _him_ then there's no way this was a car accident.

This bitch.

"It says here you have multiple lacerations across your body, a broken bone in your arm, a possible concussion, a couple fractured ribs and a black eye. Could you please explain how much you remember of the incident?" she asked, finally stopping her annoying habit as she poised to take notes. What was there to explain? I got hit by a fucking car. How I got there was the more interesting story. But for now I would give her the gist of what I remembered before it hit me.

"I was standing in the middle of the street picking something of mine off the ground and before I knew it my head hit concrete and there were screams everywhere. People, right? So melodramatic; I was only unconscious for, like, two hours, and now less than twenty minutes after waking up I'm barraged with questions I doubt I have the whole answer to seeing as I have a quote "possible concussion"," I joked humorously, before falling into a deadened stare which she returned before writing down something on my little chart.

"I'll be right back with the doctor, stay still and don't get up in the mean time," she said before turning and walking out of the room.

"Illusory Superiority. Yeah, that's probably it," I said aloud to no one but myself as I waited for the doctor to come in and examine me. Although, if I remember from my last hospital visit the doctor took forty-five minutes just to get around to me, and that was just for a physical. I let my head fall back against the pillows, before turning to stare out the window, the view being somewhat good considering a had a pretty nice shot of the city against the arching sun. Which actually brings up the question of what time it is since there's no fucking clock in here.

'_Well, it was two-ish around the time Shizuo hit me with that street sign, and since I've been out for two hours and I've been up for twenty minutes, it's probably after four.'_ Now that I had the matter of time crossed off my list, the only other remaining question was where the hell Shizuo was and whether or not he was going to let this "event" get to his head. Before I could speculate more on the matter however, the door to my room slid open, and before I could think with relief that the doctor had arrived earlier than expected, two men in police standard uniforms stepped in, sliding the door closed behind them and walking closer to the edge of my bed.

"Miss Tachibana, right?" one of them, a short man with a fair amount of short black stubble edging his face asked. I looked at them confused for a moment before nodding my head, waiting for them to explain what the hell was going on.

"You were in a car accident a few hours ago, correct?" the other man, a fairly tall person with bright, chipper eyes and a short goatee, asked, too cheery for his own ruse.

"Yeah, and as I recall that's all there was to that story," I agreed, deciding to end this pointless interview for before anything else got out.

Stubble-man looked unconvinced deciding to push his minimum luck in the hopes for more information for whatever enterprise he was currently running. "Yes, but there were witnesses there that said you were hit with a street sign into the traffic by Shizuo Heiwajima." Deciding to play along with their pathetic attempts for a scoop, I went along, if only to see them piss their pants later on.

Taking on the persona of scared, weepy girl, I trembled my lip and got al teary, leaning forward as if to look around them and make sure the coast was clear before gesturing with my left hand—the non-broken one—to come closer. They took the bait and looked behind themselves as well, making sure along with me that the coast was clear before leaning in closer to me, preparing to soak up any information I dared give them. "B-before I s-say anything, could you p-please answer a few questions for me?" I asked, bringing up my hand and touching my loosened fist to my bottom lip, as if to hide behind it, and further suggest to these morons that I was more pathetic than I actually was.

"Sure, anything sweetheart," Goatee-man agreed, his excitement getting the better of him, but not enough to downplay the act of a caring cop.

"W-where is Shizuo-kun right now?" I asked them, wanting to verify where exactly he was and trying to determine if I should kick his ass harder than need be.

"He's downstairs with the cop—colleagues, our colleagues, just answering a few questions for this investigation." Investigation? I got hit by a car after my boyfriend hit my like a baseball with a street sign. What the hell else is there to investigate?

"O-oh, then just one more question if I may."

"Yes?" Stubble-man said impatiently, like two small questions was the biggest deal in the world. I smiled at him cheerfully before grabbing his uniform collar and dragging him closer to my face, a deadly frown and glare set on him as I asked my question.

"Do you two seriously think I'm dumb enough to fall for two reporters in cosplay? Or did you assume that a little head injury would guaranty me spilling every juicy secret I have to offer like a parrot?" I asked him in as low a tone as I could manage; something between deadly serious and wait-till-I-kill-you. He shook his head frantically, mumbling some incoherent nonsense while his colleague took a step back in slight fear of the weakling-turned-badass, i.e. me. "Then listen closely and do as I say or I swear to God that I will take those peanuts you're trying to pass off as testicles and squeeze them so hard your eyeballs pop out, and then feed them all to you like grapes. You and Chipper McGee over there are going to forget about whatever story you thought you had and march yourselves out of this hospital. You're going to take off the police uniforms and never use them again for nefarious purposes because it is illegal to impersonate a cop. And if I so much as see some two-bit news article about any of this, I'll march down to whatever building you're holed up in and tie your shoelaces to the top of a street lamp, feet, legs and body attached, and use you as a piñata. Do I make myself clear or do I have to say it again?" I asked them, earning a frantic nodding from both, running haphazardly from the room as soon as I released Stubble-man's collar. As soon as the door slid shut with a loud bang, I sighed heavily and leaned back against the pillows provided, reaching up to massage my temple where my headache was slowly getting worse.

'_If I remember correctly from my first concussion, I'm not supposed to strain myself, and critical thinking is out the window too.'_ I thought, going back to staring out the glass at the tall buildings beyond my reach and the sun too bright to look at even out of the corner of my eye. Behind me the door slid open once again and a single pair of footsteps were heard as they came slower to my bedside before a somewhat elderly voice spoke up, calling my attention away from the view and to the somewhat old man in the pure white doctor's coat with gray-brown thinning hair and half-moon glasses hanging around his neck on a string.

"Tachibana-san, how are you feeling? And please, be as descriptive as possible," he said, his joints making small creaking noises as he lowered himself into the chair beside me, picking up my chart as he went and fumbling with his glasses.

I took a moment to assess myself, moving my body slightly and noting what was different and what remained the same. "The light outside is irritating and frankly I feel a little dizzy. I can't breathe all that well and I have some pain in my chest, but I guess that's because I have some fractured ribs," I answered truthfully.

"Any headaches?"

"Yeah, it was mild. Now it's like broken glass on a chalkboard through a film all because two dumbass reporters dressed up as cops for some stupid story," I snarled, putting a hand back on my temple and massaging it to relieve the pain.

"Oh yes, I passed them in the hall a few minutes earlier. They looked quite shaken," the doctor informed me while writing a few additional notes on the clipboard, making my smile wickedly at the mental image. "Now, I'd like to perform a few tests, if you could stand for me and take a few steps please." I did as was told, folding back the sheet covering me and carefully placing my feet on the floor, putting some weight on them before determining that they were—miraculously—in tip top shape. Standing up for the first time since I woke up was okay, the first step was okay, the fourth step however tripped me up before the doctor's stronger-than-expected hand held me up and deposited me carefully back on the bed. "Alright, how are your vision and hearing?" he asked after writing down a few more notes, "Do you hear any ringing? Is my voice muffled? Can you properly read the sign on the far wall?" the examination went on like so with the doctor asking detailed questions and me answering or performing to the best of my abilities.

By the end of it I was both relieved and exasperated: relived because the questions were over and done with and exasperated because he had confirmed me to have a mild concussion. "I'll have a list of things to avoid written up for you, but the main things are to avoid loud noises, bright lights and anything that requires critical thinking. Is there a type of job that you do that interferes with this?"

I sighed heavily, knowing that I was either going to walk a tight rope at work or get fired, hopefully it would be the former rather than the latter. "I work at a club over by the red light district; I guess that's shot now. And then I also work as a cashier/baker at a bakery over near Sunshine 60; that one shouldn't interfere too much." He nodded, writing something down before ripping it off the clip board and passing it to me.

"Doctor's note. I'd hate for you to lose your job because of an unfortunate accident," he said, effectively answering my questioning glance as he got to his feet. "Now, as for treatment I suggest plenty of rest, adequate sleep, and if the headache and ribs cause you any grief I recommend Tylenol since anything stronger wouldn't be good for your concussion; threat of a coma and all."

"Thanks." He nodded again and turned to leave, right before he opened the door however, I stopped him, asking him a single question to appease my own curiosity.

"Doctor, can you confirm which injuries are from the car and which are from the street sign?" he looked back over his shoulder before turning to address me fully.

"For whose sake do you need this information?" I said nothing, choosing instead to stare at him while I waited patiently for my answer. He sighed, reaching a hand up to rub his forehead before continuing on his little spiel. "I realize that it's none of my business, but your boyfriend is currently being questioned for suspicions of domestic abuse. So I'll ask again: for whom is this information needed for?"

I laughed a bit at the preposterous notion that Shizuo could ever intentionally hurt me, since a lot of the shit he did was out of his control, and answered him. "Please. Shizuo's not abusive, he just has a temper...alright I know how that sounds, but you live here so you know that I mean. And besides, I just want to gage how much crap I should give him for this fiasco; my revenge should be tasteful and well thought out."

He didn't look overly convinced, but he took my words to heart anyway and answered my question. "I took the liberty of taking a few x-rays while you were unconscious. Nearest I can tell the fractures on your ribs were made by a flat, blunt-edged object, but it only cracked them. They fractured further when the car hit you. Now if you'll excuse me I should get that list typed up for you." He left soon after that, the door sliding shut softly while I thought over the new information and planned a way to make sure Shizuo didn't take this heart.

So far I had nothing.

If I told him the worst damage wasn't his fault, he'd just tell me that it was because he swatted me into the street. If I told him that the smallest damage was all he had done, he'd just tell me that the damage wouldn't have been as bad if he wasn't there first. Basically, there was no way not to pin this on him, which would mean there was only one other course of action, no matter how much I hated it.

"Great, this day just keeps on getting better and better doesn't it?" I said to no one in particular, laying flat on my back as I glared up at the tiles. "At least I can put my original plan into action." So I bided my time waiting for someone else to enter my room, luckily I didn't have to wait long because a heavy set of footsteps stopped outside my door. When there was no more movement outside and no move to open the sliding door, I grew impatient and yelled out to the man standing in the hall like a giant blonde statue.

"Shizuo, I know it's you, you hesitant bastard, now get in here before I strain myself further than need be," I partially yelled, glaring bitterly at the ceiling as he slid open the door and stepped inside. From my peripheral vision I saw him glance over me once before setting his sights on the floor, as if it had become so interesting in the last few seconds.

"Shizuo, I have a lot of things I want to say to you right now, but there's one thing that needs to be stated before anything else so get your ass over here so I don't have to talk as loudly," I told him, watching out of my peripheral vision as he sorta shuffled closer to my bedside, eyes still tied to the floor. "Sit down." He sat in the only chair in the room, hands clenching his knees as he seemed to prepare himself for whatever I was going to say.

"Well…I'm not going to say it was the worst week of my life…because that should be fairly obvious. So instead I'm going to say this:" His eyebrows furrowed together and he lifted his eyes to glance at me before lowering them again. I bet he didn't think I was going to say the absolute last thing I wanted to say.

"Shizuo, this whole thing is your fault."

Predictably he assumed I had said the opposite and immediately started to "disagree" with me, realizing halfway that I was agreeing with him. "No, it's my—wait, what?"

"What, you thought I was going to tell you that it wasn't your fault? That the worst damage was because of that stupid car and that all you did was crack one of my ribs? Well that was my first course of action, but I had to go to plan B because I knew you'd turn it on its head like you were going to just now, not to mention an argument would be fairly pointless seeing as you're partway right anyway, no matter how much it irks me," I ranted, taking small delight in seeing his dumbfounded expression. "Look, I'm not going to yell at you because frankly it'd be a waste of time and I don't want to strain my vocal cords, so I'll stop dancing around and just answer the question you've been asking me these last few months." His furrowed brows relaxed a smidge into a curious frustration as he waited for me to speak further. "Shizuo, I want you to stop smoking, because one: I don't want you to go through the same thing my Mom went through and also…also…" I trailed off, hating the smudge of warmth that flooded my cheeks because of the embarrassing thing I was about to say. "Anyway, that's why I've been stealing your cigarettes okay? And then when I saw _that_ going nowhere I decided to do a trial run for an idea of mine. I was actually going to bring it up next week. Guess that plan sailed," I muttered dejectedly before sitting up, kicking off the sheet I had placed over myself and scooting so I could sit cross-legged across from Shizuo.

By this time his hands were no longer clenching his knees, instead they were interlocked between them as he thought over what I said, opening his mouth once before closing it again. I couldn't see his face clearly because his bangs were in the way as he leant over slightly, putting most of his upper body weight solely on my elbows as they rested against his legs. When he spoke his voice was surprisingly gruffer than I imagined it would be.

"So then why the hell did you take my and Tom's money? So you could pay off your debt? Because you're a kleptomaniac?" he asked me, raising his head a little so he could see me. His glare, while unsettling, was expected, and I ignored it wholeheartedly as I trudged on.

"First of all, I'd like to set clear that I only took Tom-san's money because when I took his cigarettes I knew he'd just buy more and then when you ran out and couldn't buy any more you'd probably ask Tom-san to borrow you some. And second, I only used Tom-san's money to pay most of my debt because he was annoying me and being a bitch," I explained carefully and clearly, "and I have full intentions to pay him back every yen. Now, to clear up this kleptomaniac business. I only stole your money because I wanted to test out a theory of mine to help you quit, I wasn't going to keep it or use it or any of that shit. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, alright?" I told him, reaching out with my non-broken hand to brush away his bangs and rub away the crease in the middle of his forehead.

"I'm a dumbass."

"Yeah, you are. But don't beat yourself up about it."

"I'm the one that should be apologizing, I should've apologized as soon as you woke up but those cops…" while he continued to beat himself up about this—understandably—I leaned over to the small table beside him and grabbed a discarded marker from the top of it, wiggling it in his face and instructed him to sign my cast while I told him some things, the gist of it being that I was neither a china doll nor indestructible.

"Shizuo, it's not the first time I've ever been hit by a car. It is, however, the first time it was someone other than my brother. And believe me when I tell you that I broke more bones playing American football with my brothers than I did this year. This isn't the first time I've broken a bone or gotten a head injury and I'm sure with my luck it won't be the last. So here's the lowdown: you _can't_ blame yourself for any injury I get because let's face it, most of the time it'll be my fault, or some jackasses' fault. It's _not_ your fault that I was standing there too long cursing you out nine ways to Sunday. It's _not_ your fault that the dumbass driving the car wasn't watching where the hell they were going. The only thing that _is_ your fault is that you _hit_ me with a fucking street sign and continually defy any attempt I make to prolong your life—ulterior motives or otherwise."

He finished signing his name, capping the marker and putting it back on the tabletop. "So then what are you saying?"

I smiled at him before holding up two fingers. "In way of an apology I request you to do two life altering things. Number one: I request that effective immediately you quit smoking, if only because it'd be better for your health anyway," I told him ticking off one finger, leaving my index up as a reminder of the other.

"What's the other reason?"

"Huh?"

"You didn't finish before, so what's the other reason."

"I'd rather not since it would make me feel embarrassed and I dislike feeling embarrassed." We sat in a standoff then before I groaned in exaggeration, putting a hand in front of his face so he wouldn't see mine when I told him the other reason. "Remember that talk we had when my sister-in-law went into labor and you got mad when I stole your cigarettes in the hospital? The one where I blurted out that I wanted you to live forever? Yeah, I left out the part where…I wanted you…to live forever with…me. You know, if you want to, not that I care, it's not like I care if you want to or not, unless you do, but I'm not going to girl out about it," I rambled, my words getting worse and worse as I couldn't find the power to shut my damn trap. When I finally—thankfully—shut up it was only because Shizuo had grabbed my outstretched hand and lowered it, leaning far forward in his chair and pressing his lips hard against mine, effectively cutting off any other witless words that might have flowed effortlessly through my lips.

"What's the other one?" he asked me after detaching himself.

"If I told you, you'd turn it into an argument," I told him, bringing him back to me as I wrapped my one free arm around his neck and held him closer to myself. He stayed silent for a few seconds longer—although the reason might have been because my lips were pressed tightly against his. But when we disconnected—for purposes of air intake—he insisted once again on my other request. I sighed to myself before moving my lips close to his ear and whispering what I wanted—the gist of it being that I have needs.

"No, no way!" he said, jerking out of my reach and looking as if I had slapped him.

I settled my chin against my hand and looked at him boredly. "So you _plan_ to be a virgin forever?"

"Well…no."

"So what's the problem then?!" I practically shouted, thoroughly fed up that I was getting nowhere sexually with this guy. He didn't answer beyond looking guiltily at my arm, causing me to sigh exasperated and roll my eyes at his pensive side. _'Well, let's see if I can't go a different route. Let's hope my acting skills have somewhat improved since the last time I tried this.'_

"Do you have any idea how insulting it is when your boyfriend won't even touch you? Don't you have any idea how much I want you? What about you? Don't you feel it too?" I asked him, voice softer and breathier than usual as I uncrossed my legs and laid them over the side, my feet grazing the floor. "All those nights I stayed over at your house, laid beside you in bed and shared body heat, didn't you want to do more than just spoon me?" His eyes flashed up to mine, betraying his hidden desires before he flicked them away, his face keeping its normal coloring while the tips of his ears betrayed his small embarrassment at being caught. I smiled slightly, my devious nature getting the better of me—not that I tried that hard to contain it anyway—as I stood up, my legs just barely brushing Shizuo's knees as I stood before him in standard issue hospital wear. Placed his hand on his cheek, causing him to slightly flinch and fix his sights on me as I continued my slow, word torture.

"Didn't you want to kiss me? _Everywhere_. Strip me naked and make love to me all night long? Hear me say your name over and over as you let yourself go wild? Don't you want that, Shizuo? To just sooth that sweet ache, that unbearable pain, in my hot, writhing body. To just drown in pleasure and bliss as you climax over and over and over?" Each sentence, each word brought me closer to his face and brought him close to the breaking point if his pained expression was anything to go by.

"You're not fair," he growled, voice loaded with want and warning as he squeezed his eyes shut all the more and tightened his grip on his slacks, a hard bump making itself evident from underneath his zipper.

I smirked, delighted at the positive reaction I was able to invoke from him. "Whoever said I was? But I did give you a warning, remember? When I said the next time this happened I wouldn't go easy? This time it happened to correlate perfectly with my plans of revenge. Getting you hot and bothered with nowhere to go because of your self-made limitations on how close you can get to someone without hurting them. Well, screw everyone else! Be selfish for once and let your desires be known. What do you want, Shizuo! What do you really want?!"

I was so close to getting him to crack, his pained expression showed that much. Stained eyes, furrowed brow, and a hard grip on the legs of his slacks, he was so close to breaking and it was all so lovely…

'_I have so much of my Mom in me.'_

But with the slam of a sliding door and the appearance of a nosy doctor, the spell of seduction was broken and Shizuo's eyes widened in recognition of the interruption before narrowing at me, as if to accuse me of some despicable act. Over his head I glared at the doctor while he stood there—partially out of surprise and partially out of pure awkwardness—before Shizuo got up and left, edging past the doctor and striding down the hallway at a quick place despite the problem in his pants.

As soon as he had exited the doctor slid the door shut, settling a disapproving stare on me as he moved inward. "Miss Tachibana, what did I tell you to do?" he asked me, settling into the chair in front of me.

"Rest," I answered dutifully, sitting down on the edge of the bed while I shuffled through a number of papers.

"And what are you doing?" he asked, although it seemed more like a rhetorical question, I answered it anyway.

"Seducing my boyfriend." He sighed, pulling away a sheet of paper from his pile and handing it to me.

"Please read the third from the bottom aloud for me." I glanced down at the paper, counting from the bottom up in my mind before saying the third aloud.

""No sexual activity". You're really putting me down here Doc, especially since I was so close to finally breaking him," I told him bitterly.

"It's not of my concern. Come back next week so I can reevaluate your mental health, until then have someone keep a close eye on you. You're free to go now, Miss Tachibana." My face stayed passive until he left, after that I broke into a weary sigh and flopped back onto the bed, flinching and hissing in pain as the action brought a sharp zing of disapproval from my ribs.

"Wonder how much the fucking bill will cost. The doc said he had to take x-rays, and then there's the cast, the Band-Aids…x-rays cost the most…had to reset my arm…this is going to suck big time."

_DRRR!_

"Then we'll send the bill to this address. Thank you, Tachibana-san," the secretary said, smiling pleasantly before attending to the next patient. I nodded slightly—while simultaneously straightening out my blood-spotted shirt and shorts after struggling to get them on one-handed—although I doubt she noticed and turned to leave, walking out the entrance and through to the sidewalk where a certain blonde was standing.

"Hey, did you fix your pants problem?"

"Yeah, no thanks to you," he murmured back, turning his head slightly, enough for me to notice the cigarette hanging off his lips. I frowned furrowing my eye brows at the sight.

"I'm sending the hospital bill to you. Hope you understand," I sneered, moving past him and down the street. I heard him hum in agreement, but beyond that I didn't hear much of anything else. I ignored the silence and kept walking, passing one street and crossing to another continuously for the nest twenty minutes until it got to me.

'_Dammit! Should've asked the doctor for Tylenol before I left,'_ I thought as I pressed the heel of my left hand hard against the headache pounding at my temple. After a few minutes or so I came close to just screwing it and sitting down on the sidewalk since I was getting a little light-headed. I took one step to the side but before I could take another my legs gave out from under me and my back hit something like a soft iron bar, the same type that had swept under my legs. I squirmed a bit, getting my uninjured left arm out from between my side and his firm chest. I glared up at the perpetrator and folded my arm underneath my cast.

"I don't need your help."

"Sure you don't," Shizuo answered dismissively, continuing on his way to wherever the hell we were going—honestly I was just walking in any general direction with no destination in mind.

"Okay, fine, I can't, but I'd rather not be carried like a friggin' princess."

"Why not? It's not like you can hang onto my back with a broken arm."

"Whose fault is that," I muttered, making no further argument against being carried in his arms—mostly because he was right.

"…Sorry."

"You smell like an ashtray."

"I'll start tomorrow."

"You make it sound like I'm giving you homework. Come on, it's a healthy life-style change. Which would you rather do in twenty years: hack out your lung, breathe through a respirator, or breathe normally and functionally without any need for medical technology?" I asked him snidely, glowering up at him while he continued to stare forward beyond his blue tinted sunglasses.

"You're not fair."

"And you're not healthy."

He flicked his eyes down at me and growled, "Well you're…you're…" before trailing off because of a loss for words. He probably could have come up with a few negative attributes for me, but my lifestyle was pretty healthy compared to his—well, despite my constant need to put myself in dangerous situations and feed off the adrenaline.

"If it makes you feel better I'll help you out…as long as you help me out." My voice dropped down to its former seductive octave making him stiffen immediately and making me smirk at the new weapon at my disposal. He growled softly, his chest rumbling ever so slightly as I lay my head lazily against his shoulder and continued to watch his expression. "You can't hold out forever. It's not fair to you and, frankly, it's not fair to me either."

He went silent then, the expression on his face as neutral as his current attitude as we continued on to—if I was watching my surroundings closely—his apartment. I wasn't sure what would happen when we got inside—if anything it was most likely going to be a quiet night in—but I decided that before he made his way up the stairs, down the hallway and through the threshold, I'd do a last go-for-broke move—one that involved the most serious and sincerest mod I could offer.

"I…can't offer you much in way of any of my first times since I've already had them…but…I'd be really happy if I could be yours." If he didn't see my face right now I'd be golden, I'd win the argument and keep my dignity. Unfortunately since the universe tended to be a bitch, he looked down at me and stopped in the middle of the staircase, eyes zeroing in on my bright and blushing face. Had I been a person with little to no modesty I could have easily avoided this embarrassment, but unfortunately I had enough to make me blush like a school girl confessing her love to her for her beloved—which, in a sense, I was.

When he gave me my answer, I was both relived and annoyed. At the very least I was glad that he at least had it in mind, but simultaneously I was upset that it would be any time soon—doctor's orders and all. "Give me some time," he had said as he restarted his way up the stairs.

"Alright," I had agreed, glad to have finally made some leeway in our relationship. Soon after he unlocked his apartment door and walked inside, kicking the door shut with an accidental slam that left a small impression on my brain while simultaneously bringing a very important issue to mind.

"Hey, where's my hat?"


	50. Chapter 50:Heaven's Vengence

**Greetings readers and one and all! And welcome to the fiftieth chapter of Cookies, Cakes and Cigarettes! If you've noticed the title of this chapter and remember it from a certain episode, then you already get the gist of it. Now sit back, relax and read the chapter to your heart's content.**

**9:30 P.M.**

'_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! What the hell is this?! I thought Celty said this was going to be safe!'_ I thought, more angry than panicked as some unsavory looking individuals—and what looked to be some…foreign secret agents?—pressed towards us inside the warehouse, the lights of their cars blinding me as they sat just outside the warehouse doors. _'Although to be fair, who could have known this would happen?'_

**9:00 P.M.**

'_I wonder what Celty's picking up. Gotta be something important this late at night,'_ I thought curiously as a middle-aged man in fishing gear handed a red bag to her. _'Wonder what's inside.'_

"I don't have any idea what's inside of it," Huh, guess I can't ask, "It might be fresh meat or a severed head, who knows with these guys." Why did that sound ominous? Then again he did say severed head. Celty took the bag from him and the man walked away, leaving her to look at it curiously before giving it to me to sling on my back. Handling it delicately I slipped it over my eyes and made sure the bag was tight against my back before I wrapped my good arm around Celty's waist, my cast pressing against my belly and her lower back, and held on as tightly as possible as she leaned forward and took off, her horse-possessed motorcycle whinnying as we started forward.

As we hit the expressway skirting the city I started to wonder once again what her job was tonight. As far as her job went I already knew she had to deliver the package, A.K.A the possible severed head, from point A to point B, but as for clientele…I probably should have asked. My thoughts were soon cut shot however when a few things happened: one, a small, sleek black car with two men in black pulled up beside us; the second, one of the two men pulling out a gun and firing off a couple shots which, miraculously, missed us despite the short range, and the third—and possibly most frightening of all—the weight inside the red bag moved.

'_Oh my God! Is the thing in the bag alive?!'_ I asked myself, my fear of death and the possible moving head overlapping as Celty drove onto a side road, the men following close behind us. At first I figured since the men appeared to by foreign and Celty had a good twenty years on them, we could lose them on the back streets, but that thought soon evaporated when two sets of head lights turned on, illuminating the darkened street and alerting us to the presence of more men in cars. Before we ran into the head lights, Celty took a hard left, my leg a few inches from skimming the asphalt before she righted us and sped down the street, the men in black and the two slovenly group of—what I could only guess were petty—gangsters following somewhat close behind.

"Celty! Cad é an ifreann ag tarlú?! Shíl mé go raibh sé seo ceaptha a bheith sábháilte!" (What the hell is happening?! I thought this was supposed to be safe!) I shouted through the sleek black helmet, my words coming out half-muddled as we hanged another right into the warehouse district and drove inside one of the abandoned buildings. We stopped a fair distance from the entrance and whether Celty thought she could take them or not I didn't know. What I did know was that she'd be alone in this fight since even though I was ambidextrous I had no good weapon to use against guns, knives and what looked to be a sword.

'_We are so screwed.'_

**8:30 P.M.**

I didn't know what to think of my new hair cut. Was one side too short? Was the other straightened instead of wavy? Then again the woman who was cutting my hair had to leave for a "meeting" and when she came back she was a sobering wreck.

'_Stupid Tom-san. I bet he did it just to spite me for borrowing his money. And his interest rate is just as high and absurd as his agency!'_ I thought, pulling one lock straight to compare with the straightened lock beside it, narrowly seeing the two centimeter difference. Silently I tried to determine if this haircut was better or worse than the job my little brother did. That was the same day I stopped letting stereotypes rule my style—hair or otherwise.

"At least it's short enough in the back to disguise my red hair," I said dejectedly letting go of my hair and letting my arm swing back to my side, my cast rocking slightly in its sling as I walked on the side streets back to Taka-chan's. Behind me I heard the distinctive braying of a horse and, finding it more odd than natural for a horse to be in Ikebukuro, turned back to wave enthusiastically to the foreign fairy steadily approaching. She, in turn, raised a gloved hand in acknowledgment, her motorcycle slowing down before stopping beside me, whipping out her PDA and typing before showing me the screen.

**[Hey. How's your arm doing?]**

I looked down at it and biting the inside of my cheek determined the state of healing it was in. "Pretty good. I'm gladder that my migraines are gone and my personality is back in order…Kishitani-san didn't…tell you anything, did he?" I asked her hesitantly, having not seen her in the last couple weeks and having spoken to her even less.

**[He just said that you and Shizuo decided to move further in your relationship. Why? Did something bad happen?]** she typed, her question making me feel odd and embarrassed. Probably because I told Shizuo the most embarrassing thing while my concussion-infused mind took hold of my mouth and other parts of my body I wasn't willing to think about.

"If you call me saying something so mortifyingly embarrassing that it actually made me want to die "bad", then yes, I agree. Anyway, enough about that, what's going on with you? Got a job or something? And if so, can I come with? I'm bored and I don't have any work tonight," I said, absentmindedly running a hand through my asymmetrical hair, taking delight when her bright yellow helmet nodded her approval and allowed me to climb on behind her, a swath of black shadows encircling my head before they became a solid object and we took off down the street.

**7:00 P.M.**

I remember back in Hokkaido when seven at night meant things were winding down rather speeding up, and even in the country seven meant getting ready to go to sleep so we could rise early to get morning chores done before going to school. Then again I wasn't much for early bed times and slow evenings—although if it was with Shizuo I wouldn't mind. And so, while hundreds of people milled about outside, here I stood in front of a desk where a woman was casually flipping through a magazine and simultaneously ignoring my glares.

"What about this one? It would look so cute on you!" she exclaimed, her tanned and sharply pointed finger pointing to a hair style that would only work it my hair was longer and much more frizzy. My eyebrow twitched and for the umpteenth time since I've known him, I knew what Shizuo felt like when he had to deal with people who just didn't understand.

"For the last time _no_! And not just because it's out of my budget. Now listen: all I want is for my hair to be just under my ears and no longer on my shoulders, and I'd like it to be done by someone who is learning so it is cheap. Do you understand now?" I said, slowly and clearly so this bleach-blond idiot would stop pointing at hairstyles that were so utterly not made for me.

She sighed dejectedly and closed the magazine, throwing it so it flopped back on the pile next to her before leaning boredly against her hand. "Fine. The student haircut it is," she hissed, giving into my request and walking away to the back room, leaving me to wait. "Such a pretty hair color and she lets it go to waste. Lucky bitch," she muttered. Annoyed at her attitude towards my choice in hairstyle I frowned, remarking to myself that this would reflect in the tip I gave—not that the original tip would be large by any means.

Little more than a minute later a woman, probably a few years older than me with a mix between purple and dark red hair, arrived to greet me, her attire reflecting a night on the town rather than work-a-day. "Hi! My name's Hanako. Come this way and we'll get started." Taken aback by her upbeat attitude, I followed behind dumbly. "So let's wash it first and then we'll cut and style—"

"No no, no washing, no styling. Just a trim below the ears, that's all I want and that's all I'm paying for," I interrupted, falling back into one of the chairs and watching questioningly as she flitted about nervously, getting first a pair of scissors and, after looking at the various other people around us, the thin black cape, fastening it tightly around my neck before hesitantly snipping away strands of hair, the shoulder length locks dwindling away to just below my earlobe on one side of my head. When she looked determined to be done with one side she began on the other, stopping only when the bell on the door rang and the familiar tone of fake kindness rose in the air from the front desk.

Hanako muttered a quiet 'uh-oh' making me turn to look to see what the trouble was, an eyebrow raised in curiosity before the other joined it in surprise as I watched my boyfriend and his partner in debt collection look over to where the other bleach-blond pointed, unfortunately her pointed fingernail was pointed over at us. Silently I wondered if she was pointing at me, but seeing as the woman behind me had started in some varying degree of terror, it was more likely that they were here for her.

"Amai-san, what're you doing here?" Tom asked as they approached, grin on his face and hands in his pockets.

"I think it's pretty obvious, and since it's a little early to be getting your hair bleached," I nodded to Shizuo, "you two must be here on a job. Right or not right?" I asked them.

"Right. Miss Hanako, how about we go outside to talk." She nodded and followed, Shizuo leading the small procession as they left out the back door and leaving me to wait semi-patiently for her to come back.

**4:00 P.M.**

"Sooo…is this guy someone who's been avoiding you guys?" I asked them as I trailed along beside Shizuo, my hand in his as we approached a small apartment complex.

"He hasn't been avoiding, just evading," Tom disagreed, speeding up slightly just to get away from me.

"They mean the same thing," I told him, making him stop short and whip around to face us.

"Why are you here? Because you're bored?" he asked me, his temper obviously getting the better of him, like it always did when we talked to each other. I smirked, partially because it was always amusing to see him lose his cool and also to annoy him.

"Hey, look at that, you answered your own question." He growled in irritation before turning back around, hunching over and walking away without another word. Shizuo tsked beside me and pulled me along, the grip on my hand tightening a smidge as we stayed on the ground near a fairly large tree, Tom taking the stairs two at a time to the second floor.

"Do you have to agitate him?" Shizuo asked me.

"It's not that I have to, it's that it's fun. And easy. And he's kind of being an ass about his repayment," I responded, sneering at the thought of the earlier conversation. "I'll try to catch you later, gotta find a hair salon in my budget," I told him before disentangling my hand from his and starting my long trek back.

"Bye."

"Oh, hey, Shizuo," I called, turning back, "Remember, four's the limit and if you smoke more than that I'll burn the rest." He scowled, turning back in frustration to the job at hand: namely the man halfway climbing out the second story window.

**12:50 P.M.**

Maybe I was wrong. No, it's too early to tell. Maybe the bad luck is not having a single customer some in. Huh~ I miss the kids. Why does it have to be a Saturday? I pouted down at the three names scribbled on my cast—plus a certain dyed blond teenager's phone number; that one was hard to explain to Shizuo—before I glanced over at Kyoko and little Hideki, although little might not suit him anymore since he was getting bigger, though it did nothing to quell his cuteness. While I envied Kyoko and her fussing I went back to the thing currently holding my boredom: looking at the ends of my hair. Contrary to when my youngest brother had butchered them into a tomboyish mess, they were now shoulder length and unmanageable. Not to say that my comb would break if I brushed my hair, just that my cover would be blown every time I went to work.

'_Worrying about my hair. Tch, I should be glad that Akira-san let me keep my job,'_ I thought sullenly, flicking the lock away and looking over at the baby boy staring at me with wide burgundy eyes. I smiled and, flicking two fingers up and down, waved to him just before he closed his eyes and gave me a wide toothless smile.

"What are you thinking so hard about Tachibana-san?" Kyoko asked me, never once turning her head away from her baby.

"Whether or not I should cut my hair. I asked Shizuo a few days ago and it turns he liked it when they were long," I answered leaning back against the wall as I stared up blankly at the ceiling.

"So you're going to cut it short just to spite him?" she asked, making it sound like a question even though it was a statement.

"Hey…wait, no you're right," I snorted, laughing, glancing at the clock and silently counting down the five minutes I had left.

"Speaking of Heiwajima-kun, how is his…withdrawal progress going?" she asked, for some reason unable to say the word weaning. I don't know why, she'd have to start Hideki on it eventually; after all, he couldn't drink breast milk forever.

"Great! He's down to four cigarettes a day!" I said excitedly, hoping to God that she didn't ask any follow-up questions.

"How many did he start with?"

'_Damn it!'_

"…five."

"That was a more than a month ago!"

"No one said the path to an addiction-free life was easy. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's the end of my shift and I need to go bug a debt collector," I told her, folding up my frilly pink and yellow apron one-handedly and swapping out my personal stuff, i.e. keys and wallet, and stuffing them in my jeans pocket.

"Why?"

"Because, it's fun, easy, and he's been acting like a…bass," I explained to her, omitting what I actually wanted to say since I was in front of an impressionable child before I left out the front door and took out my cell, planning to see if I could catch up with him and Tom-san and get rid of my ever increasing boredom.

**7:30 A.M**

"Bill, debt, the amount I owe Tom-san. Gah! Why is everyone so obsessed with money?!" I shouted angrily, crumpling the sheet of paper that held the amount total I owed between my hands and throwing it away from me before I crumpled into myself, hitting my forehead on the low table in Shizuo's apartment. Beside me Shizuo continued to listen to my rant, munching quietly on a fried egg atop toast.

"Maybe if you didn't do so much shit you wouldn't have this much debt," he said after swallowing, looking over at me dully before flicking his eyes to the growing kitten sitting in front of him, his little golden eyes watching the food in Shizuo's hand as it slowly disappeared down his gullet. Much like a dog begging for food but without the drool and large, puppy-dog eyes, although the round kitten eyes didn't hinder Shizu-chan's begging face, nor his success when Shizuo placed a small piece of egg in front of him—which he gobbled with little grace.

"Maybe if you didn't lose my lucky hat I wouldn't be going through this shit."

"Sorry if I thought getting you to a hospital was more important than a stupid hat!" he snarled, fingers digging into the wooden floorboards creating deeper gouges where days before he had done the same thing when I had brought up the issue at hand: his lack of awareness when my hat had flown off after I got hit by a car.

Reaching over I pinched his earlobe between my fingers, his wet hair tickling the back of my hand as I replied back casually, "I'm not holding it against you, I'm just venting my anger." He calmed down some—effects of my technique—but the hard edge in his brown eyes didn't disappear. "And anyway, except for Tom-san, they were all out of my control. Well, maybe half of the hospital visit was because of you, but I won't hold you to it," I continued, letting go of his ear and taking another bite of breakfast.

"I told you I already paid for that."

"And I told _you_ I'd pay you back!" I shouted indignantly, glaring at his nonchalant self as he narrowed his eyes at me and went back to finishing his breakfast. "I appreciate the thought but I dislike being in debt to people especially to people who might break my legs as a warning, stupid Tom-san and his threats," I mumbled. At this Shizuo grimaced before going back to finishing his breakfast. I, however, started to worry about the parts of my body not recently injured that could, in the near future, get injured. "Do you have any chocolate chi—"

"You're not making cookies just because you're worried," Shizuo interrupted making me glower in disappointment before glancing at the time on my cell and getting up.

"Fine, I'll just try to make them at work. See you later," I told him, swiping my cell off the table and stuffing the remainder of my breakfast in my mouth.

"Don't do any stupid shit today."

"Tch, please Shizuo, that's like telling the Earth to stop rotating. And with the good streak I've been having this last month something stupid is bound to happen," I laughed, before kissing him good bye and running out the door, determined not to be late for my shift.

**9:30 P.M.**

'_Mac soith__! I jinxed myself!'_ I cursed myself, taking the bag from off my bag and shielding it within myself and Celty. Subconsciously I wondered where my mind had gone that I'd put my well being on the line for a bag of raw meat or a moving severed head, but since it was for Celty I could get over it. While I sat panicking the man in black said something…what was that? _'Oh great. Foreign, shades at night, black suits, what is this, the freaking FBI?!'_

As he and one of the petty gangsters talked, or more so squabbled, the shadows on the ground rose and fluctuated until they encompassed Celty's outstretched hand and lengthened, but before they could take on a definite shape, a ring of spotlights turned on, illuminating the strange group. For the next several minutes I questioned myself on whether this was actually happening, or if I was having a dream, an incredibly realistic dream. Then again my dreams weren't as vivid and they usually didn't contain fluorescent paint blobs or the man who had previously tried to break my fingers—that one was a pleasant surprise and unfortunately didn't do anything to heighten my current surprise level.

When my senses came back I realized that the things I was having trouble with believing were now within the warehouse while Celty and I stood on the outside looking in. Although as soon as I came back I also realized that the guy who had threatened to break my bones was right in front of us, the red bag I was previously holding now in Celty's as he approached, a curious glance thrown my way before he turned back to Celty.

Wordlessly I sighed in relief, glad that the helmet disguised my face and noticeable red hair. Although that didn't help my unease as a slight shiver ran down my back. Suspicious, I looked around, finding no one other than Shiki's goons walking out the guys splashed with florescent paint to the cars waiting beside the huge sliding doors. My shoulders relaxed and it was only after he _touched_ them that I regretted getting even a smidgen more comfortable around him.

"Relax, I won't out you, Amai-chan. You wouldn't be as fun if more of you were broken," he said, smirk in place as he moved past me and took his hand off my shoulder. Mentally and physically I shook it off, never really getting rid of the ominous feeling in the back of my brain whenever he came within thirty feet of me, taking small note of what he was talking about and what the red bag in his hand was for. By the end of the explanation, from both Izaya and Shiki-san, my curiosity was quenched, my understanding of the situation had flat lined and my adrenaline had waned, leaving me with lighter head and need to crash.

That is, until I saw the money inside the bag Izaya was carrying. Then one other thing flat lined: my morality. It was just…that money. All that money just sitting there, ripe for the taking and belonging to no one else, at least, that's what I assumed. But it didn't really matter, if it was the gangsters? It was probably dirty money anyway. If it was Izaya's? I'd probably be wearier and wouldn't steal it at all. But seeing as he was actually asking what he should do with it that meant it probably belonged to no one else. Not to mention that even if it was his then this would be karmic retribution—although a nice punch in the face would be much better. These were the things that clouded my judgment as I vaulted foreword and grabbed the straps, pulling it from the ground and bringing it with me as I ran flat out from the warehouse, not turning back and not slowing down until I was affair distance from them all. Although if I had I probably would have seen Izaya's smile grow and his murmuring of this playing out even better.

Whatever the hell that meant.

**10:00 P.M.**

'_Okay, let's not freak out. This is seven hundred thousand Yen. Now, let's think about this clearly. Just stay calm…and don't freak out,'_ I thought, hiding behind a dumpster in a back alley while I recounted the money I now had and divvying it up among the people I owed. _'Yeah, this could work,'_ I decided, placing the last stack inside the bag before zipping it up and swinging it onto my shoulder, Celty's minute-made helmet bouncing against my hip from my shoelace as I left the alley and began walking with a large smile on my face to the office of the man I owed money to—which incidentally happened to also be Shizuo's workplace. Stupid Izaya always trying to screw me over.

"Hnnn~ can't be thinking bad thoughts now! I'm about to get out of debt~!" I said happily, rounding a corner and grinning widely as I spotted the office building. Although I stopped short as soon as I reached the next corner, not because I felt bad about using dirty money, I actually felt okay with that, no, it was because something bright and colorful came out of the building, a strange sound following it out as it flew through the sky. It looked somewhat familiar, but that didn't discourage me from ignoring it fully and continuing on upstairs, knocking on the door and entering on my own, my greeting being a scowling Tom-san and a fuming boyfriend surrounded by broken glass.

"…Hi…should I come back later? Or is this a good a time as any?" I asked no one in particular, the bag on my shoulder slipping down a bit before I pulled it back up. The man at the desk, the man I had talked to several months earlier about borrowing some money, gestured me forward with one tan hand. "Just so we're clear," I started glancing at Tom-san to make sure he was listening, "I'm here to settle my debt. All, whole, entirety, pick one, they all work," I said happily, depositing the bag on top of the desk and unzipping before I dumped the entirety of it on the surface. Chuckling happily I took from one of the stacks a few dozen thousand Yen notes and handed them to Tom-san, taking obvious delight in his shocked expression.

"Where the hell did you get this cash?!" he asked, practically shouting in my ear.

"Knocked over a bank. Pft! Just joking, I stole it from…some petty gangster guys covered in paint," I laughed, deciding it was best if I didn't say _his_ name when Shizuo was still getting over whatever the hell pissed him off this time. He and Boss man seemed to exchange a look before glancing over at the broken window behind Shizuo. Misinterpreting their looks as worry I quickly explained that there was no need for them to come here since it wouldn't have been possible for them to identify me, although they didn't look all too convinced.

"Look, can you just tell me how much I still owe you? I'm tired and I wanna crash on my roommate's couch," I grumbled, taking back two hundred thousand Yen stacks and putting them back inside the bag. After he wrote down the number I still owed I handed over the remaining stacks, waiting patiently as they counted the entirety of it until I busied myself with taking a cigarette out of Shizuo's mouth and flicking it out the window, and proceeding to argue with him the complexities of unhealthy addictions and reminding him again of how he had made a promise. When they were done they gave me back what little change there was before bidding me goodbye—which I took to mean: get the hell out.

"Fine fine, I've heard that enough to know when I'm not wanted, but I have just one thing to say to you money grubbing bastards: I'm out of debt bitches! So screw you guys, I'm going home! and I sincerely hope that I never have to come here again…for money purposes anyway," I said with glee, taking the—now lighter—bag from Bass man's desk and leaving out the door, a mock wave thrown over my shoulder as I exited the office space and then the building. I was half a block down the street before I heard a set of footsteps following me, and before I could stop and see whoever it was a large hand fell on my shoulder, making me squeak girlishly before I settled into mild embarrassment when I realized it was only Shizuo when he fell into step beside me and pulled me against his side.

"You know, if you wanted to walk with me, you could have told me to wait for you while you finished up business," I told him, nudging his side with my elbow so he could move away and not get smacked repeatedly with the borrowed helmet.

He took the helmet from my side, untying the shoelace and letting it hang from my belt loop as he examined it. "You meet up with Celty tonight?" he asked, holding the helmet between his hands as he looked down at me.

"Yeah."

"You still afraid of her?" It was easy to understand why he would ask me that seeing as she was probably his closest friend besides Shinra.

"Moderately less afraid. Thanks for asking."

"Are you staying with me tonight? Or at your place?"

"Taka-chan's out, so I can stay there without being ridiculed," I explained, running a hand through my hair once again and taking note of the uneven ends and asymmetrical feel. "I'll stay over at your place though if you ask me real nice." For me it was bribe, for him it was a command that he didn't fully understand.

"Amai, will you please stay over tonight?" he asked me, seriously and honestly. I dropped the bag I was holding and caught his arm, pulling on it slightly to make him stop and turn to me, curiosity-filled frustration on his face as he looked down at me.

"Ask me again, I didn't understand." He understood this time, leaning down while I tilted my head up until his lips touched mine, warm and firm as they moved against mine, sweetly, tentatively, oh so hesitant until his fingers touched my hair and his palm flattened against my ear. His other hand joining soon after, the helmet falling with a crack onto the pavement as his kiss became firmer, less tentative like he was sure I wouldn't break if he stopped restraining himself so much.

"Hey Shizuo?" I said after I broke away to refill my air supply.

"Yeah?" he asked, panting slightly as well.

"I still miss my hat."

"I know."

"And I'll stay over at your place."

"Alright."

"And…"

"Yeah?"

"Never mind, I don't want to talk anymore," I said, pulling him down by his vest for a second kiss, and delighting when he returned it.


	51. Chapter 51: Carney Carnage Tachibana

_Swish_

It has been approximately four months since my…let's go ahead and call it an accident, and nothing much has changed.

_Clang_

No, that's not right. If I was speaking in general I'd say that the weather changed astronomically. What once was hot was now pleasantly warm. If I was talking about my relationship I'd probably mention my small personal victory at having seen Shizuo from behind, or maybe it'd be more appropriate to say Shizuo's behind.

_Clang_

Work wise I was on thin ice with Akira-san, seeing as I had missed a _lot_ of work. But if I were to talk about today…

"Cease and desist you little shit!"

"Why don't you make me, Greta?!"

I'd say family visits are overrated, especially ones that involved my sadistic younger brother Carney. And when those visits started off with my brother fighting against my boyfriend using a katana and a stop sign respectively, and led to the grudge match between my brother and I—where I was clearly at a disadvantage—went beyond the small annoyance his sudden appearance would have brought.

At first when I saw him, I assumed my imagination was getting the best of me. Carney in Ikebukuro? Impossible, as well as a recipe for disaster. My brother unsheathing a katana and pointing it threateningly at my boyfriend who was standing just outside of the shop waiting for me to get off? Predictable at best and quite possibly suicidal.

So when my boyfriend, who had snapped in recognition of this "heinous" act, pulled the street sign out of the concrete on the corner and swung it one-handedly at my brother's head, I decided to step in. however, as soon as I stepped out things escalated with Carney defending and pushing back against the giant blonde, successfully slashing at his person and bringing with each swing of his blade a small tear and a pinprick of blood. The look in Shizuo's eyes turned animalistic and as he brought his hand up and caught the sword mid-slash, preparing to hit him with the straight-edge of the stop sign, I reached up with my one free hand and grabbed his pressure point, igniting within him a stream of calm that left the stop sign in midair, his body loose and his wild eyes tame, a dull glint left in them as he looked down at me and my infuriated face. But it wasn't at him that I was directing it, no, it was at my younger brother who had dared to try and kill Shizuo. That was when I snapped and brought out my handy-dandy metal bat and engaged in a fight I wasn't fully operational for. That and the snide comment he threw at us.

"You so cowardly that you need a woman fighting half-assed for ya?"

If anyone was going to beat him up then by all rights it would be me.

A small nick in my side brought to my attention the small detail I had missed at the beginning of my fight with Carney.

"I might be fighting half-assed but fighting someone with a handicap is too easy for you, isn't it? Even it out, Chump wad!" I yelled, bringing my arm up and knocking Kuroshi (the name he had given his katana) up and away from its intended course for my side.

"If I did that then you'd have the advantage Miss "Ambidextrous". But fine, since you won't shut up I'll fight you one-handed, and _win!_" he snarled, taking his left hand off the hilt and bringing the katana down on me before I stepped back, letting the pristine blade hit the concrete sidewalk, it's edge sinking a centimeter into the surface before being yanked out and slashing sideways at my chest, it's tip severing the strap on my sling and causing the flimsy material falling to the ground. It lay forgotten as I brought my bat up to block his next swing. This time the blade sunk in little more than halfway into the hollow metal and as I fought to figure out my next move Carney started to talk again, not in the same mocking voice he had used before, but in a genuinely curious tone, like he wasn't trying to half-kill his big sister with an over sized knife.

"Hey Greta, what the hell did you do to Dad's lucky hat?" he asked me, left hand twitching as he reminded himself to keep this sight fair. I glanced away for a fraction of a second to the red brim of my Dad's hat, the hat I had previously lost four months ago when I had gotten hit by a car.

"It's a long story, but the most I can tell you is that an acquaintance's subordinate happened to pick it up and I chanced upon him during some questionable business," I answered. There was more to the story that involved my panache for stumbling into illegal transactions involving Shiki and his ilk, but I didn't really feel like explaining the whole story to him, especially since I had lied to Shizuo about how I had gotten it back.

I took initiative as he pondered my somewhat vague response and set him off balance by kicking him square in the stomach, his blade leaving the notch in my bat as he stumbled back. He regained his balance and stood glaring at me, bringing his free hand up to wipe away the blood on his cheek that had fallen there when I narrowly scrapped his forehead earlier. He looked at it for a moment before bringing his eyes up to glare at me. "How about we call it a draw?" he said through clenched teeth, wiping away the trail with the back of his hand.

"Why? You gettin' tired?" I laughed, mocking him.

"No, there's some cops headin' our way and I don't feel like being in a twenty-four hour lock-up," he explained, picking up the black lacquered scabbard where he had dropped it outside the shop and sheathed his sword. "HEY! CITY SCUM! Show's over, hit the bricks before I hit you with them!" he lisped oh-so-charmingly at the somewhat large crowd that had dared to stay and watch the resulting skirmish and not run away. Some cleared immediately—intimidated by Carney's delinquent-like appearance—others sneered and scoffed at his apparent rudeness, but ultimately everyone returned to what business they were previously doing before Carney made his presence known. The only one that hadn't made her presence apparent was the black-haired, glasses-wearing, delinquent-dating Setsuko who currently had a large paper-back book raised over her head before she brought it down with a definite slap on Carney's black and red-tipped head.

"OWWW! What the hell Setsuko?!" he yelled, dropping his katana and letting it clang harmlessly against the ground as he brought his hands up to both sooth and shield his head against Setsuko's book. A small frown crossed her heart shaped face and her thin brows angled in uncharacteristic anger as she took in my slightly ruffled appearance and Shizuo's sliver-strewn shirt.

"Don't you "what the hell" me, Carney Tachibana! You promised you were going to talk to him before you decided anything definitive, and you lied!" she cried, lifting the book to strike him over the head again. Carney reacted immediately and dodged again and again to avoid the book, meanwhile Shizuo—having snapped out of the forced tranquility I had placed him under—moved to my side and took the bat from my hand and collapsing the segmented bat into a single, thick bar and handing it back.

"So who are these guys?" he asked me, watching with me on the sidelines as Carney started running away from Setsuko and her "book of evil", all the while trying to come up with a convincing argument.

"Well, the dumbass with the black hair and red-dyed tips is my younger brother, Carney. You met him a couple times way back during the funeral, remember? You got in a fight with him over the mispronunciation of your name because of his lisp…I'm assuming since I was actually asleep at the time," I explained, the exact memory of the event fuzzy at best since it was mostly imagination and second-hand information.

"…the gloomy kid's twin?"

"Yup! But he's a fraternal twin, so don't expect him to be like Kazuhiro. He's rude, aggressive, sarcastic, sadistic, insane, and energetic and he loves getting into fights with random people who he feels deserve it."

"Who's the girl?"

"That's Setsuko-chan, Carney's girlfriend. Except for now she's usually quiet and kind. Not to mention she usually acts as a sort of tonic for Carney's unique personality," I told him before calling Setsuko over to reintroduce herself to Shizuo. "Setsuko-chan, you remember my boyfriend Shizuo, right?"

"Of course, nice to meet you again Heiwajima-san," she said bowing, her normal sweet personality taking place over the rare anger she had shown moments before. Shizuo, suddenly quiet, offered little word in way of greeting besides bowing slightly back.

"Carney! Get your ass over here before the cops come and complicate shit," I called, stooping down to pick up the ruined sling before giving up on any hopes of fixing it and throwing it into a nearby trash. Carney, weary of Setsuko for the time being, picked up his abandoned katana and edged around us and into the bakery, sitting down at one of the tables, arms folded and head down as he sulked at his new position in the doghouse. "Setsuko-chan, can I have a minute?" I pulled her aside, leaving Shizuo to enter and growl softly at the sight of Carney as he raised his head and snarled back.

She looked at me curiously and raised a delicate brow, replacing the book inside her messenger bag before regarding me seriously. "How good are you with sewing?" I asked her, glancing inside to make sure another fight hadn't broken out yet.

"I've had a lot of practice since I'm always patching up Carney's clothes. Why do you ask?" she asked softly, pushing her square glasses up her lightly crooked nose.

"The clothes Shizuo is wearing are really, really special to him, so could you please patch them up for him?" I asked her, jutting my lower lip out in full-on pout mode. The move, while nearly ineffective on Setsuko, helped her see how much it would mean to me and him and she agreed whole heartedly while pulling a small rectangular box out of her bag and walking determinately into the shop with me following closely behind, planning to grill Carney on the reasons he and Setsuko were here.

_DRRR!_

"So Setsuko-chan's here because of a college visit to Sophia University and you tagged along because of what again?" I asked him, leaning my head against my left hand as I watched him scarf down a piece of cinnamon bun cake. Beside him Setsuko ran a thin needle through the pure white cloth of Shizuo's shirt before pulling it free and tugging it lightly to tighten up the careful stitches, his already stitched vest lying patiently on the back of his chair. And beside me Shizuo sat, half naked, a plastic spoon loaded with milk pudding lifted halfway to his mouth before he ate it and returned it to the small plastic cup.

"Security," he said through a mouthful of fluff before swallowing and continuing, "I don't trust Tokyo as far as I can throw it, much less the people in it," at this he looked pointedly at Shizuo before looking back at me, "I don't like the idea of my sweet Setsuko around these punk gangster wannabe's so I decided to guard her while she's here."

"Ha ha, you sound just like Father the first time I brought you home," Setsuko laughed, a gentle smile gracing her face as she tied off a strand of string and moved onto another tear near the shoulder.

"Yeah, ain't he just a sweetie. So what's the other reason you're here?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes at him over a slightly malicious smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he retorted, denying the obvious.

"Tch, please. I'm your big sister Carney, when it comes to you and malicious intent I can practically smell it on you. So out with it, what's the other reason?" I asked him, dropping my free arm away from my head and letting it fall into my lap as I leaned back in my chair.

"You really are like a dog, aren't you Greta? Fine, I also wanted to hold an intervention for you against the blond lummox," he admitted, glaring fully at said blonde next to me. His words hung in the air for less than a few seconds before I finally said something.

"Intervention? For what? Shizuo's the nicest guy if you know how to talk to him," I said defending him with the truest fact.

"He _broke_ your _arm_, Greta, and you're just going to let him get away with that?" he said indignantly, setting down his fork and glaring fully at me now.

"A _car_ broke my arm. All Shizuo did was fracture a couple of ribs," I said, my voice taking on a darker tone as I glared at him, stealing a small glance sideways just in time to catch Shizuo looking down at my arm and side with a solemn expression. "I think we both know you and I have done worst to ourselves," I continued, my face hardening into one of resentment and rage. I wouldn't tolerate my little brother berating my boyfriend about a mistake, especially since I had already done that and gotten it to somehow loop around to the other physical issue and miraculously get it to work to my advantage.

"Oh great, now you're bringing up that stupid American football game? Get over it already, Greta! That was four years ago!" he said, complaining that I was bringing up something he thought of as "a fun story".

"You sent me into shock and broke my collarbone all for a lousy touchdown, you little shit!" I said ferociously, jumping to my feet to use my small (and rare) advantage of height over my seated brother. Carney's mildly annoyed black eyes turned feral as he snarled back the one thing about my past relationships that I had failed to tell Shizuo about (despite the fact that the most he knew was the fact that I had dated the man who had arrested me at the hospital and an unknown bouncer).

"I don't recall you complaining when you had hospital sex with Yuki!"

There were several different expressions that took over us all, ranging from mercifully innocent to what-the-fuck-is-he-talking-about, from that's-right-I-know-about-your-little-adventure-between-sheets to shocked-and-ready-to-kill. I think it's pretty obvious who was wearing what if Setsuko's "trying to ignore what's happening around me" blush, Shizuo's broken spoon and furious wide eyes, Carney's scowl, and my wide eyed shock was anything to go by.

"How the hell do you know that?!" I half-asked, half-yelled unknowingly dispelling any questions Shizuo might have had about Carney had just said out of spite.

"You and that policeman?!" he yelled, standing up quickly and towering over me as I scrambled for something to defend myself with. Unfortunately in my haste the only thing I could come up with was something lame and slightly cliché.

"Which policeman?" I replied lamely and weakly while I tried simultaneously to come up with something better.

"_The one you claim as your best friend!_" he snarled, clenching his hands into fists and bringing one of them down onto the table top, splintering the cheap wood and breaking it into several large pieces. Setsuko jumped, startled by the loud break and sudden action, while Carney reacted by turning to her and shielding her from any possible flying wood. "_How could you not tell me?!_" he fumed, a dark scowl on his face as he struggled to keep himself from doing more.

"Why should I have to tell you? It's inconsequential information and it's private," I snapped at him, finding it preposterous that I had to divulge the names of anyone I had had a relationship with, but simultaneously knowing that I should have told him much sooner than a near six months later. Although even if I had he still would have been irritated, although now that I think about it I could have avoided having to pay for a broken table. "It doesn't matter anyway; me and Yuki broke up less than two weeks later. No harm no fowl."

"I matters to _me_. You're always dancing around the truth, Amai and I'm sick of it!"

"I only dance around it because I know how you'll react!"

"Finished! I'm finished with the shirt so you two can stop fighting now!" Setsuko said, raising her voice above her normal soft pitch so we could hear her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her shiver slightly in Carney's loosened protective embrace; the girl was a textbook case of childhood trauma resulting from being around constantly fighting family members at a young age.

I sighed to myself, my peaking adrenaline waning at the sight of her heartfelt attempt to remedy the situation, unfortunately for her the blonde man in front of me was still full of rage, and from the sight of his clenched hands he would be for awhile. The only solution was to trigger his pressure point, but as I reached my left hand up to his ear he grabbed the middle of my forearm and squeezed it in warning, thinking that I was trying to worm my way out of explaining myself. I frowned at him, furrowing my eyebrows in a silent plea as I inclined my head towards Setsuko and her nervous smile and out held shirt. Shizuo's eyes followed to where I was gesturing and the angry look in his all but shriveled and died as he took in her slight shaking frame. He got that special look on his face, the one that always pulled my heartstrings (not that I would ever tell him) and, without loosening his grip on my arm, he pulled it closer to the side of his head, his ear grazing my finger tips before I took it between them and pinched the fleshy lobe.

As soon as his grip loosened on my arm I pulled it free and let his hand swing down to rest by his side, his bare shoulders slouching as he gained a slightly blank look. Wordlessly I took the shirt gently from Setsuko's hands and folded it over my cast that was tucked tightly against my stomach before leaning around him and doing the same with his vest, careful not to break the blue sunglasses tucked away in the breast pocket. I took his hand in mine and led him behind me to the kitchen, the pair of faces peaking around the edge of the door disappeared as we approached and when I nudged the door open with my foot I found Miss Yuumi fussing about the cabinets trying to look busy and Kyoko milling about in the industrial sized refrigerator. Ignoring them, I took Shizuo to the bathroom, locking the door behind us before handing him his shirt to put on—despite the loud voice in the back of my head making a sound argument about this being one of the few times(excluding the bathroom incident after his shower) in which I had seen him half-naked in broad daylight.

"Okay, you get dressed," the voice in the back of my head died a little at this, "and I'll talk. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Yuki and me, I just didn't know how'd you react when I did. So to make it up to you I'll answer five questions no holds barred," I said, holding up five splayed fingers despite the fact that he wasn't looking at me—which was ironic since he always had to look down at me.

He hadn't looked up from the floor by this point as he pulled a sleeve onto his arm and this didn't change as he asked his first question.

"What do you mean when you say you don't know how I'll react?"

"I don't know, I just thought that if I told you, you'd be jealous because Yuki and I are still friends. And I don't mean it in a bad way, just that I don't know how pissed you'll be if I told the honest-to-God truth," I explained.

"How'd you really find your hat?" he asked, finally looking at me, albeit with a slight edge in his eyes, like he already knew I had lied to him.

"…I might have found it on the head of a person who may or may not have been a subordinate of a man who may or may not head the Awakusu-kai during a deal that may or may not have been illegal that I may or may not have accidentally stumbled across when I was walking home from work a variable number of weeks ago," I told him, tiptoeing the line between the complete truth and utter malarkey a stranger might not have believed.

"You're dancing around the truth again!" he said, raising his voice, showing that the pressure point trick was wearing off.

"Only because Shiki made me promise not to say anything or he'd cut my tongue out!" I retorted. "Anyway, you have three questions left and they better not be about my hat or that particular night. I need my tongue to do things you see and they may or may not involve tasting pudding or frosting."

Shizuo didn't waste any time in asking his third question despite the fact that he was quickly running out of questions. "Why do you keep lying to me?" an obvious, if not predictable, question.

"I don't lie, I only say half-truths," I explained quickly, insulted that he would think I was a pathological liar.

"Then how come you don't tell me the whole truth?" he asked, beginning to button up his shirt, the hornier part of my mind dying away with each button as it locked away delicious toned abdomen and heated flesh.

"Because I don't like getting into arguments with you all that often. It's wasted effort and I like spending time with you when you're not yelling at me," I answered him, making him pause just as he reached the forth button, just above his stomach but leaving his pectorals slightly obscured from view. I bit my lip, debating whether I should continue or not, but seeing as he had stopped and not asked me any follow-up questions I decided I was free to.

"You have one question left, and if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a question?" I said tentatively, rubbing the back of my neck self consciously and instantly berating myself for doing so. He thought about it for a few seconds and nodded his consent, buttoning up the rest of his shirt while he waited for me to continue. "When you said you were "sick of it", did that mean…you were sick of me?" I hated how weak I sounded, but I cast it aside in favor of hearing how he felt about me after the last six months together. However, I didn't hear it so much as felt it as his hands encompassed the sides of my face and brought my up to my tiptoes, his mouth molding over mine as he kissed me, slow and deep and dispelling any thoughts that he was sick of me. When his tongue snuck out of his mouth and touched mine I thought back to my earlier remark about needing my tongue to taste pudding and frosting, secretly adding to the short list the taste of Shizuo mouth as I detected the unmistakable flavor of milk pudding with an undertone of ash (such was the taste of Shizuo's mouth, always sweet and always with a subtle taste of smoke). However being the thorough person that I was I wanted to hear him say it out loud.

So with great…_great_ difficulty I retracted my tongue and detached my lips from his, but didn't move them so far away that they weren't skimming his in the lightest of touches that made my spine tingle a bit. "So does this mean you still like me?"

He pressed his lips against mine again before saying, "It means I still love you and to stop making dumbass assumptions."

I chuckled a bit before turning into a laughing mess, forcing me to stop kissing Shizuo and lay my forehead against his chest as I tried to dispel my obnoxious laughter, my left hand fisting his newly fixed shirt as I did so.

"Great, my boyfriend is telling me he loves me and that I'm a dumbass in the bathroom," I laughed, burying my face in the bit of flesh that his shirt had yet to conceal, taking no notice as the bathroom door's lock clicked and the knob turned, opening to real my younger brother and his blank expressionless face.

"And here I thought you were sobbing in misery, not laughing like an idiot. Damn, I thought that would have broken you two up for sure," he said, leaning nonchalantly against the doorframe as I turned away from Shizuo and asked him angrily:

"What is the matter with you?"

"I just thought, "what would Amai do?" and went from there. Plus I read what you did in those death threats from the girls at school you screwed over. Outing someone in front of their friends and making them look like a slut? And all because she stuffed garbage in you locker? Genius stuff sis," he smirked.

"It wasn't just that she put garbage in my locker, that bitch told everyone I had lice!" I yelled, eye twitching in rage as I remembered the memory in bitter anger before grinning evilly at my response. "Luckily no one paid attention after I told everyone that she had crabs."

"You know Sara actually did, right? So it's not actually a rumor."

"Pft, that's her karma, not mine. Serves her right the little liar," I spit, edging past him into the kitchen and exiting into the common area, ducking behind the glass case to get my keys and wallet out of their cubbyhole. "Anyway, as much as the revenge warms my heart, that doesn't excuse you for trying to destroy my relationship!" I hissed, extracting a few thousand yen notes (the last of my stolen loot) and laid them next to the cash register before scribbling a note of explanation and leaving it on top. "Now come on, grab and your girlfriend and follow me home, I need to ream you out."

"Which home?", "But I wanted to explore Ikebukuro some more before I went to Shinjuku", "We got a hotel room, let's just go there," they said all at once, confusing me until I figured out how to answer their questions properly, telling Shizuo first that I meant his apartment since it was in a more appropriate location than my edge-or-the-red-light-district home, explaining to Setsuko that the place I was taking them would take us through most of Ikebukuro, and flat out telling Carney that given they were in a committed sexual relationship I didn't trust whatever "hotel" he had found, telling him that I'd feel better if he and Setsuko stayed with my roommate while they were in Ikebukuro for the nest couple days before they went to Shinjuku. In my mind I formulated a plan that would get my roommate to stay over at Naoki-san's place tonight, but given Carney's panache for pissing every person he ever met off, I felt my chances of getting rid of Taka-chan for the next few days were good.

After my brief explanation we split up, Shizuo meeting back up with Tom and Carney, Setsuko and I making our way to Shizuo's apartment. We walked for some time with Setsuko's wide eyes turned upwards and sideways at the various buildings and people littering the streets, and Carney's eyes narrowed and glaring at any guy who looked our way. Sometime after we had passed our sixth or seventh person clad in yellow, he finally asked me what they were, asking if they were part of Ikebukuro's infamous color gangs.

"Yeah, the douches in yellow are part of the Yellow Scarves. And that's Douches with a capital D. Although a couple years ago there was a group called the Blue Squares. Now those guys were bigger dicks, my first few months here they kept trying to ambush me, but their leader got arrested after that and they virtually disappeared. They had a pretty big hard-on for the Yellow Scarves if you know what I mean," I told them, taking in Setsuko's slightly furrowed brow and Carney's shit-eating grin. If I was crass I'd say that he was getting pretty hard just thinking about fucking some gang members up. Actually I'd say it our right.

"Wasn't there another one that popped up little more than a year ago? That's what it said in Sora's _Tokyo Warrior_ magazines," Carney added, pulling Setsuko closer to his side and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as a particularly hostile looking man passed us by.

"Yeah, the Dollars, but I wouldn't classify them as a color gang since they're color-less. And now that I think about, they do more good than harm. I actually know a couple people who are part of the Dollars. Ah! There's one over there. Simon! Si~mon~-san~!" I yelled, waving my left hand erratically in an effort to get his attention. As the huge black man turned his friendly face my way and shouted back in greeting, I turned partially to the couple behind me with surprised expressions and slack-jaws and asked them if they would like to eat real (or weird depending on what Simon gave us) food while we talked. They nodded, seemingly unable to say anything else before I pushed them forward and introduced them to Simon before he ushered us inside with his usual large smile on his face.

—Karin has entered the chat room—

Setton: Good evening.

TarouTanaka: Hello.

Kanra: Glad to see you're back, Karin-chan~

Karin: Hey guys, what're you talking about?

Setton: What happened to your usual spiteful greeting at Kanra?

Karin: Not in the mood for it I guess. Family visited today and they're draining me.

TarouTanaka: Well, it's nice that they visited. Isn't it?

Karin: Not the way they are. Anyway, get to the gossip! Get to the gossip!

Kanra: So excited, why the interest? Have you become a girl?! (*o*)

Karin: Shut up dumbass.

Karin: Actually, don't. Just tell me anything my family needs to steer clear of while they're here.

Kanra: Wait, you haven't heard?

Karin: Heard what?

TarouTanaka: Kanra was just telling us before you got here.

Setton: Is this about the recent slasher incidents?

Karin: ?

Karin: Slasher incidents?

Kanra: Yeah yeah! The Slasher! It started a while ago but the attacks are getting more frequent!

Karin: Ew~ I'm all for slasher films but only when it's cheesy and fake. (^o^)

Karin: Do the police have a description or something?

Setton: I heard The Slasher has been using a katana. Is that in your slasher flicks too?

Karin: (-_-;) Very funny.

Karin: Is there anything else? A katana is not much to go on.

Kanra: Not only do they wield a katana, I heard they have glowing red eyes. Like they're possessed.

Kanra: Creepy, huh? (^_^)


	52. Chapter 52: (Rewrite) Sweet and Sour

**Due to the lack of reviews (constructive or otherwise), this right here folks is a rewritten chapter. I sincerely hope that this version is better than the last one.**

"So they're from Russia?"

"Yes, that's why the place is called "Russia Sushi"."

"Do they know what sushi is?"

"Gee, Carney, I wonder what the hell Setsuko and I are eating? Oh, wait, that's right, it's sashimi and yellow tail! Of course they know what it is dumbass!"

"Then why the hell am I eating pork?" Carney asked, invading my personal space by waving a cube of the other white meat in my face with the ends of his chopsticks. Irritated, I took the offending meat and popped it into my mouth, chewing it with a delighted expression before swallowing and saying,

"I don't know why you're complaining. You asked for something off menu and you got it! Be happy they put up with your selfish request." Beside me Setsuko ignored out argument, calmly flipping through a college visit pamphlet and picking at her sashimi every few paragraphs or so. I envied her, if only because she had the ability to ignore my brother better than I could. Carney scoffed, skewing another cube and bringing it up to his eyes to scrutinize, a few grains of rice falling back onto the plate before he put it in his mouth and chewing it.

"Whatever, at least it's not raw," he said around the meat and rice before swallowing and picking up another piece. "Hey, so, _why_ are we here?" he asked me, leaning back on one of his hands while he ate, despite having complained about it just seconds earlier. "I thought we were going to your boyfriend's place?"

"Because, even though Shizuo's apartment would be perfect for loud, unexplainable noises without anyone suspecting anything suspicious, I don't want you anywhere near it because I just know you'll go snooping around. And besides I've already done that, there's almost nothing to tease him about," I explained, taking a sip of water before eating more of my yellow-tail.

"Yeah I know, we were there for an hour before heading over to your job," he said dejectedly placing his chopsticks down and leaning back on his hands, done with his meal.

"Ha! Find anything good?" I asked him, knowing that the best he could find were a box full of x-rays taped together to form several full-bodied skeletons—a small project of mine when I had gotten bored one day while waiting for Shizuo to get done with his shower.

"No…there was _nothing_ good," he said mysteriously, suddenly grim looking and hollow-eyed. Curious, I leaned over to Setsuko and asked him what his deal was. She raised a thin eyebrow, wondering what I meant as she had not been paying attention the last few minutes, and looked over the top of her book to see what I was talking about. Her eyes filled with recognition of the expression and, leaning close to my ear so Carney couldn't hear her, answered my question.

"He's just emotionally scarred because he accidently touched your panties," she explained through a whisper, her light, nearly imperceptible voice bringing Carney to a shiver as if he had heard her.

"_Never again_," he said harshly.

"Well what did you expect Carney? Shizuo and I have been dating for the last six months, of course I'm gonna have clothes over at his place!"

"Just…shut up. Everybody just shut up," he said monotonously while he rubbed his temple with his thumb and his forehead with his fingers, trying to still a growing migraine. Having had enough of his mild "traumatic" experience, I ignored his plea for silence on the matter and continued on the anti-modesty trek, aiming to go from mild to major.

"Hey Setsuko-chan, did I ever tell you that until he was three he thought I was a boy?" I asked her, aiming to rub more salt in his wounds and also to embarrass him.

"Amai! Amai you wouldn't!" Carney shouted, reacting violently as he snapped out of his self-induced blackout, slamming his palms down on the low table and looking at me with half-crazed, half-betrayed eyes.

"Well apparently despite knowing me for the better part of your nineteen years of life, you seem to not know me at _all!_" I rebutted, snarling at him because, I'll be honest, this is also a bit of punishment for breaking into Shizuo's place.

"Umm…Amai-chan, why did Carney-kun think you were a boy until then?" came Setsuko's timid voice, bringing a smile to my face as Carney's eyes burned with mixed warning and hatred.

"Well," I began, watching semi-mutely as Carney's face turned a feint shade of red—not of embarrassment, of anger. "I kept my hair short a lot and my temperament wasn't all that great. Actually I think Carney wasn't all that perceptive as a toddler. He only found out when we started throwing mud at each other one day and Mom made us take a bath together—"

"Amai, stop it!"

"And he asked me where my "thing" was. When I told him I didn't have one he started screaming—"

"Amai I swear to God if you repeat that line—!"

""Okaa-sama! Okaa-sama! Nii-san doesn't have a thing between his legs!"" I laughed, repeating his young high-pitched squeal before I was knocked backwards against the floor as Carney kneeled over me and shook me.

"You bitch! You promised never to repeat it!" he yelled, his hands fisting my t-shirt as he shook me back and forth, but I didn't mind as I kept laughing my ass off at the memory of his cute baby butt running out of the bathroom as he went to tell Kazuhiro that they had a big sister. Behind him I heard the small tinkling sound of Setsuko's muffled laughter and the unexpected sound of a sliding door as Simon poked his head in to check on us.

"No! No! Fighting is bad! Make much hurt brother of Amai!" Simon said in broken Japanese, reaching far over the table and grabbing the collar of Carney's jacket and lifting him easily off of me and into the air. His legs flailed as he tried to get out of his hold, making little progress as Simon sat him down in his spot and held him down by his shoulders. "Eat sushi. Make you feel better, yes?"

"Fucking giant! I don't want any sushi I just want to kick her ass!" Carney disagreed, fidgeting violently as he struggled to get free.

"Eat sushi, brother of Amai. Make you feel better," Simon said, a little more firmly now, so much so that Setsuko sat still as a startled rabbit and I had stopped laughing. Carney stopped struggling and studied the large man, trying to understand the subtle difference between the words he said now and the words he said earlier.

"…Alright. I mean, I guess it doesn't really matter in the long run," he said. Simon smiled, nodding his agreement before turning away from us to tend to other customers, the door sliding softly shut behind him. He might have been comforted with my brother's words, but me? Like I said, I've known him for nineteen years, and nearly everything he said was either to start a fight or manipulate people—more often than not those two tended to overlap.

"I mean, I guess it's fair really because of what I did," Carney continued, face blank as he watched me for some sort of reaction.

"What did you do Carney?" I asked him, light and jovial as I entertained the thought of what he could have possibly done that I haven't seen him do before.

"I just turned his apartment into the equivalent of a neet's. But don't worry, I didn't do anything gross…because Setsuko wouldn't let me." I looked over at Setsuko and caught her eye before she ducked down behind her pamphlet. Reaching across myself I pulled the small booklet out of her hands and sent her a look that asked her why set let him do it. She bit her lip, glancing down at my cast before looking back at me with eyes that begged me to understand.

"He…he made a sound argument. I-I couldn't go against it," she answered, playing with her fingers and looking down them for some small comfort.

"A messed up room? That the best you got delinquent? I've cleaned up so many of your messes, I'm actually thinking about charging you for this one," I countered, getting my wallet out and placing a few bills on the table, enough to cover the bill for the food, as I prepared mentally prepared a checklist of Carney's usual "mess-up-rooms" crap.

"No, I also shaved your cat." I froze my hand in my pocket as I put my wallet back and my eyes trained on the table. "Make sure you have enough money in your wallet for a sweater. Forgo getting anything else; Setsuko caught me before I could do the rest of his body." I thawed, slowly, retracting my hand from my pocket after making sure my wallet was secure, and reached for my glass of water.

"I'm willing to give you a five second head start before I rub your face against the asphalt," I told him, raising the glass to my lips and drinking the rest of the water. Carney smirked, taking his sweet time standing up and sliding the door open. By the time the door had closed I was on my feet and practically stepping over the table and nearly crashing into the screen. When I finally wrenched the door open I saw the tall end of Carney's jacket disappear out the glass doors of the restaurant and his stupid smirking face glancing at me through the window before running down the street.

"Get back here you coward and take your punishment like a man!" I yelled despite him not being in the building anymore, running after him while behind me Setsuko thanked Dennis and Simon for the meal before jogging to keep up with us.

By the time she finally caught up to us we were rolling around on concrete cursing and trying to bite each other like cats and dogs. A few minutes afterwards we stopped fighting each other and Setsuko and I each took one of his arms and started dragging his protesting self to Shizuo's place, planning to make him help clean up his mess, but the closest we got him to agree to was a promise to half-ass it. Whatever, as long as it got done it didn't matter the method.

_DRRR!_

Carney wasn't lying when he said that he made the place looked a neet's, although when compared to the picture in my head it wasn't really that bad. Sure there was clothes strewn everywhere, sheets ripped from the mattress, a few boxes from his closet emptied of their contents and their contents thrown on the ground of his bedroom. The nice thing—if there was a nice thing in this mess—was that Carney didn't leave the fridge open or empty the trashcan or completely destroy the bathroom. Still, it didn't help his case when I found my kitten huddled under a pillowcase with his back and sides nearly bald with little tufts of fur left here and there because of a mediocre haircut. No, if anything it made me want to hurt him even more.

Ignoring my base impulse to beat the shit out of Carney, I comforted my shivering kitten and ignored Carney's snarky jabs at my supposed laziness while he himself took his sweet time picking up a bed sheet and folding it slowly while Setsuko set about picking up shirts and socks. Ignoring him I began picking up, setting my kitten down on the newly-righted coffee table, surrounded by a large fluffy towel so I could keep an eye on him and so that he could slightly comfortable, and began picking up black slacks and blue boxers. Things moved quickly after that, but seeing as Carney turned on a baseball game a couple hours later it seemed to be moving slowly. Things went fuzzy after that and the next thing I was vaguely aware of was of being picked up off the floor and placed on a freshly made bed next to my snoring brother.

Shizuo's POV~

There was something wrong with Celty, or at least there was something bothering her. I decided I'd ask her tomorrow about it as I walked home, expecting to find a locked door and an empty apartment. When I found the door unlocked I didn't think much of it since Amai tended to use her "skills" more than her key. It still pissed me off that she wouldn't quit, but I guess it was more of a habit that she couldn't quit.

"Amai, you here?" I called out, closing the door behind me and enveloping the room in darkness. There was a small groan from somewhere in the room and a deeper one resounded after that. Confused, I turned on the light, finding, with some irritation, my girlfriend curled in a ball against her younger sides as he slept sprawled on his back on the floor. Surrounding them were folded piles of clothes, my clothes, and on the table…Hazelnut?

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked him, crossing the room in long strides and stooping down to pick him up off the table, his unusually small body shivering from a poor hack job of a haircut. Half his fur was gone, the only fur that was left fluffy and intact being on his limbs, tail and head. "This kid," I growled, crouching down and grabbing the collar of Amai's brother's shirt, lifting his upper body off the floor.

"Heiwajima-san?" a quiet voice asked, alerting me to the teenager standing at the entrance to my bedroom.

"You're…tch, what was your name again?" I asked her, raking my brain for the name Amai said. The quiet girl…something-ko.

"Setsuko. Um, can I ask what you're doing with Carney-kun?" she asked me, rubbing her eyes and placing her glasses back on her face, squinting at the odd-haired boy still half-dangling in my hand. I looked down at him, wondering how he was still asleep before looking back at the black-haired girl and answering her.

"I was gonna ask him why he shaved my cat."

"I thought Shizu-chan was Amai's cat," Setsuko said, looking confused. I growled at the name, asking myself for the thousandth time why Amai thought he resembled me.

"We share him," was my grunted response. She nodded, seeming to understand before she walked over to where I was standing and crouched down next to Amai's brother, tapping his face and saying his name—Carney?—before the kid batted her lightly away.

"I'm sorry about barging in like this, we'll be out of your hair in a minute or so," Setsuko said, tapping his cheeks again before I moved him away, walking around her and into my bedroom where more piles of cloth were spread.

"I'm not gonna let you go out this time of night. Just sleep here for tonight," I told her, dragging the boy onto the bed and letting his legs fall off the side as Hazelnut jumped from my arm onto his belly, making a show of digging his claws into his shirt before curling up and going to sleep.

"Ar-are you sure? It seems like too much trouble," she argued, leaning in the doorway and looking at me with concerned eyes.

"No shit it's trouble, but I'm not going to kick you out at night. I'll just rough it out on the floor," I told her, walking past her and picking up Amai off the floor, gentler than I had with her brother. She clung to me immediately, wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my shoulders, burying her face against my neck and mumbling incoherently about sushi and underwear.

"I thought you all were staying at her place?" I asked Setsuko while I carried Amai back to my bed. While I set her down next to her snoring brother, her body clinging to me and forcing me to pry her limbs off of me, Setsuko answered, confirming my growing suspicion that it had something to do with why my clothes were all over the place.

"It got sort of late and Amai-chan and Carney-kun sort of crashed after they got into an argument over a baseball game," Setsuko continued, wringing her hands as she watched from the door. When I got Amai's arms free from my neck, I grabbed a pillow by her head and tucked it under my arm.

"Good night," was my singular response as I brushed past her into the main room, throwing the pillow on the ground next to the coffee table and routing around for my sleepwear. Behind me Setsuko stuttered a quiet "good night" and closed the door. I probably scared her, she seemed the type to scare easily anyway, but I didn't want to scare her. I sighed to myself, unclipping my bowtie and letting it hang around my neck while I unbuttoned my vest and shirt. After I had removed the material, before I could pull on my night shirt, a hand touched my back, softly pressing against my spine before it moved to my side, a thin arm and its plaster covered duplicate wrapping around my waist and joining fingertips over my stomach. A small pointed nose skimmed the area on my spine between my shoulder blades.

"Long time no see, Shizuo."

Amai's POV~

It started with Shizuo picking me up and carrying me like a toddler to his bed, but Carney's snoring and Setsuko's trembling voice roused me from sleep and forced me to get up and talk to Shizuo. He seemed mad, and it was understandable seeing as we had sort of taken over Shizuo's apartment and monopolized his sleeping space. As soon as Setsuko closed the door I rose and stood up from the bed, wobbling a bit because, like the rest of my body, they were half-asleep.

"Amai-chan! I'm sorry did I wake you?" Setsuko asked quietly, approaching me quickly and putting a steadying hand on my shoulder.

"It's fine Setsuko. Go to sleep, I'll rough it out with Shizuo," I told her, shrugging off her shoulder and opening the door. Behind me Setsuko started to protest, but closed her mouth and turned back to Carney, crawling back onto the bed and laying next to him. In front of me I delighted at the image of Shizuo clad only in his black slacks as he shrugged his white button-up off and bent down to grab a gray tank top from one of the piles on the floor. _'I really should have put those back instead of leaving them there,'_ I thought to myself, approaching his turned back quietly and stopping no more than a foot away. _'He has such strong muscles and he doesn't even show it,' _I thought, reaching out with one hand and touching his back, the muscles stiffening at the sudden contact. _'What did Shinra say? That they got tougher over the years?'_ I asked myself, sliding my hand to his side before bringing my other arm up—wrapped, as it was, in plaster—and wrapped my arms around him, my fingers interlocking over his stomach. _'It feels soft though. And warm.'_ My face pressed against his left shoulder blade, my nose skimming his spine as I breathed in a very feint smell of nicotine and his natural scent. No cologne or aftershave, just him.

"Long time no see, Shizuo." He relaxed, turning his body slightly to look down at me before turning back around again, muttering a small hello before stepping away from me, breaking my hold.

"What happened to them sleeping over at your place?" he asked, pulling the tank top over his head and covering his upper body as he turned to face me, his face set in an expressionless look as he watched me.

"Carney's an ass and Setsuko's sweet but doesn't keep a short enough leash. Sorry. We sort of fell asleep after a baseball game while we were cleaning up. I didn't mean to make you sleep out here," I told him, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly. "You're mad, aren't you," I guessed, frowning at his unchanging face.

"I'm not mad, I'm just…" he trailed off, pursing his lips unable to deny that he was at least a little mad at the current situation.

"Upset that you have to sleep on the floor because it's too late to kick them out?" I offered, furrowing my eyebrows in sympathy as he looked away from me. He didn't say anything more or deny what I said; he simply picked up a pair of sweatpants and walked around me towards the front door. I stayed glued to my spot, not even turning as the room was suddenly bathed in darkness, the only light streaming in from outside through the square window in front of me. Behind me I heard metal clacking and the shuffling of cloth. My best guess was that he was changing his pants, but I couldn't really turn around and check since he'd probably get embarrassed and yell at me to turn around. Unfortunately, as entertaining a thought as that may be, I couldn't very well exercise it given that as dark as it was I couldn't really see anything.

"Don't turn around," he said, confirming my suspicion that he was changing. I grinned at the challenge but seeing as this afternoon he was attacked with a katana, and until a few hours ago his apartment was a wreck, I decided to cut him some slack and respected his wishes…for the time being. Sooner or later I'd get those pants off, whether by his hands or mine.

Feeling bored I knelt down, patting the pillow he had brought out and collapsing onto it, closing my eyes and moaning in content at the soft squishy feeling. Below me I felt the vibrations of his footsteps as he approached and stopped beside me, letting his pants drop on top of the table beside his shirt, vest and bowtie before lying down beside me, laying his arm over my body and pulling me closer. "Good night," he mumbled, slowing his breathing as he settled down. I repeated it back, laying my forehead against his chest and closing my eyes against the darkness.

After a few minutes of "silence"—by which I mean listening to my brother snore through the door and debating loudly in my head the decision to confront him about his sleep apnea—I decided on something fun. Craning my neck I pressed my mouth against the hollow in his collarbone, feeling the heartbeat in his throat quicken before resting again, seeming to pay me no mind until I trailed my lips up his throat, smiling softly as he swallowed hard before asking me what I was doing.

"Boredom mostly, also Carney sleeps like a log and snores like an old man," I answered, kissing the underside of his jaw, feeling his jaw tighten as a reaction.

"You're not doing anything with your brother in the next room," he warned me, but he neither moved his hands from my back nor moved away from me, on the contrary he held me tighter against him, his fingertips digging into the flesh of my back.

I chuckled, deep and throaty like I was explaining the details of a genius plan to my nemesis. "Notice how my hands are neither under your shirt nor near your groin, not to mention that I'm only kissing your neck," I told him, moving downwards to the junction between his neck and shoulder and nipping it once or twice before biting down on it. His reaction obvious and much to my delight as he groaned once, short and sweet, and removed one of his hands from my back to place it against the back of my head and grip my hair.

"This can't be real," he said through gritted teeth. This didn't sound like the start of a good conversation.

"Why can't it? Because you think you don't deserve it?" I asked, going along with it for now if only because I felt like I could turn it around.

"Yeah."

"Because you hate your strength?" I asked him, retracting myself from his neck and looking him straight in the eye. He looked down at me, silent for a moment before speaking.

"Yeah."

I frowned, unhappy that I hit the mark even though it was less than a foot away. "Then I'll just have to love it for you," I told him, pressing my lips against his chin and then again against his mouth once I realized I had missed my target, despite it being less than three centimeters directly in front of me.

"You shouldn't. You're crazy," he mumbled beneath my lips, kissing me back and burying his hand in my hair, nearly tangling it now that it was growing past my shoulders. I smiled before remembering a similar remark made to me several hours earlier around the time—

"Oh right, I almost forgot. My Dad called a few hours ago, something about reminding you of question five…?" I informed him, trailing off in a question since I still had yet to know what the other four questions were that my Dad had asked him.

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten," he answered, ignoring my lingering question as he rested his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.

"…can I ask you something? What the hell did he ask you?" I asked him when he gave no explanation. I propped myself up on my elbow and looked down at him, not willing to drop the subject in favor of sleep—no matter how good sleep sounded right now.

"Not ready," he said, not even batting an eyelash—not that his eyes were even open to begin with.

Gritting my teeth and thoroughly frustrated with his vague and half-formed answers I said in a low but clear voice, "Okay, what the hell does _that_ mean?!"

His response was, of course, silence followed immediately by a soft growl and an iron bar wrapped around my hips, pulling me sideways on top of him. his other arm joined it's friend at the small of my back and just rested there as I jimmied myself into a more comfortable position, unintentionally rubbing against him in a way that made him growl and tighten his hold on my body, trying to still me as he squeezed his eyes closed.

"I'll tell you later. Now shut up and go to sleep already," he grumbled.

I sighed, pouting against the expanse of muscle and warmth that made up his chest and laid my cheek against the center of it, his heartbeat pounding out a slightly erratic tune as I shifted once more to get comfortable, my arms flat against his sides and one of my legs in between his. "…fine, but only because I have to deal with Carney tomorrow," I lamented, breathing out a heavy sigh and closing my eyes, letting the mixture of Carney's snoring and Shizuo's rising chest rock me back to the sleep I was in no less than twenty minutes ago. What started out as a supposedly mundane day had escalated to a certain measure of insanity before deflating to a manageable high as I lay, warm and happy like a fat cat in the afternoon sun, in Shizuo's strong arms. His embrace the only reassurance I needed to tell me that the worst and messiest days could end in the sweetest moments.

Now all I had to hope for was that the rest of this week would end relatively well without a need to go to the hospital or to an underground doctor whose entire practice I still questioned.

_DRRR!_

—Saika has entered the chat room—

Kanra: It's here!

Setton: Ah.

TarouTanaka: Huh?

Saika: I cut

Saika: I want to cut

Kanra: I'm the one who wants to cut you!

Saika: Wrong

TarouTanaka: Is this the person who was spamming any message board related to Ikebukuro six months ago?

Saika: Weak, wrong,

Saika: Can't, control

Setton: You haven't banned this person yet?

Saika: Desire, is, want

Kanra: I did!

Kanra: It doesn't work, no matter how many times I do it!

Saika: Love, not enough, love

Setton: oh, I see.

Saika: Want, love, people

Kanra: I banned the IP address, but they just use a different host and come back.

Saika: More, strong, love,

TarouTanaka: Ah, you mean a proxy?

Saika: Desire, I, mother, mother

Kanra: Hmm, it doesn't look like a proxy…

Setton: Wow, that's scary.

Saika: Mother

Saika: Mother

Saika: Mother, mother

Saika: Mother, mother, mother

Saika: Mother, mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother

Saika: Mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother

Saika: mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother mother

Saika: Mother mother, mother

Saika: Mother mother mother mother

Saika: Mother mother

Saika: Mother, mother, mother, mother mother

Saika: Mother mother mother

Saika: Mother mother mother mother

Saika: Mother

—Saika has left the chat room—


	53. Chapter 53: Who Are you?

**Since I've changed the rating, and a few people have been asking when, I've decided to give a treat. So I sincerely hope you all enjoy!**

_How did this happen? One minute I was standing alone in his bedroom, the next Shizuo was there, his hands on my hips and his lips pressed against mine, the delightful taste of something sweet mixed with the ashy taste of nicotine dancing against my tongue as he deepened the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning against him and smiling as one of his hands slid onto my back, slipping his fingers underneath the edge of my shirt and spreading his hand flat against the small of my back. This wasn't like him…but hell I wasn't complaining._

"_Mmm~ hey, what's gotten into you?" I asked him, my lips brushing his as I talked, but instead of answering me he simply moved away from my face, burying his own against the side of my neck and kissed the juncture, biting down on my pulse enough to leave an imprint. I gasped at the feeling; my breath shallow as I tried to figure out what was happening, what was making him act this way…and how I could get him to do it more often._

_God I'm depraved._

"_Hey…come on, answer the question," I said again, biting my lip when he bit my earlobe, gingerly, like it was as fragile as rakugan. The hand on my hip moved up, gathering material as it went until the entirety of my right side was exposed to the air and the hand on the small of my back moved to duplicate what its friend did, only to take it to the extreme and slip the neck hole of my shirt up over the back of my head. Shizuo detached himself from my ear and moved away just far enough for me to remove my shirt by myself and throw it into some random corner. I grinned up at him, taking delight in the sight of his blushing face and the way he tried to look anywhere but at my chest, despite just moments earlier trying to get my shirt off for that purpose._

"_You haven't answered my question yet," I said playfully, reaching out to him with my right hand and hooking one finger into the v-shape of his vest to bring him back. With his blue sunglasses removed I could see them clearly, his beautiful brown eyes reflecting what he felt. Shyness? Hunger? Want? They all seemed to flash through as I took his hands in mine and placed them back on my naked hips, letting them touch and span the exposed skin he could see. As he rubbed my skin and touched my stomach, I placed my hands back on his vest, unbuttoning it to get at the under layer of fabric, and unbuttoning that as well to get to the layer of skin and flesh. "What's gotten into you?" I asked him, pushing the fabric off his shoulders and raking the tips of my nails down his chest and stomach._

"_Nothing," he murmured, transfixed as he lowered his gaze and brought his dominant hand up to my breast, hesitant as he touched the fabric of the cup with his fingertips before spreading it flat against the curve of my breast. My face grew hot and my breath shallow. The hell was with him? And again…how could I get him to do this more often._

"_C-come on, just answer the question," I begged, pouting as he ignored my plea and extracted his hand, lowering both to my hips and gripping them tightly as he lifted me up and held me against him. My legs wrapped around his waist while his hands slid underneath my butt, supporting me as he held me against him._

"_Do you want me to tell you or do you want to have sex?" he asked me, the erection in his pants rubbing against my groin in an achingly pleasant way, turning my brain to endorphin-addled mush. I didn't answer; I only pushed my lips against his and wrapped my arms around his neck while he carried me to the bed, his knee sliding onto the sheets before laying me down._

"_Do you really want to know why I'm acting this way?" he asked me. Unfortunately while he was talking he was also grinding against me and making me hate jeans for the first time in my life._

"_I don't care anymore, just keep doing what you're doing," I moaned, wrapping my legs tighter around his waist and arching my back as he ground little circles into my pelvis, his huffs of breath in my ear as he groaned in pleasure._

"_You're dreaming," he breathed out, burying his face against my neck once more._

_I froze, confused by this unusual answer before I reasoned it to be a joke. "…What? Pft, no way, this feels too real to be a dream," I laughed, removing one of my arms from around his neck and pushing his blond bangs out of the way so I could see his eyes clearly._

"_It's just a normal dream based on your repressed sexual frustration. You should probably wake up before you embarrass yourself," he told me, all the while kissing my neck and making me regret taking him seriously._

"_No no no! I don't want to go back! I wanna stay here and have sex with you!" I shouted before the room blurred around us and I was pulled into the black chasm leading back into my sex-less reality._

I was startled awake, shooting up into a seated position and panting heavily as my eyes darted from one corner of the room to the other, trying to discern where I was while simultaneously fighting to keep the fake memory of my near sexual experience fresh in my mind. The first several things I noticed were things that alerted me to the fact that I was in the same room I had fallen asleep in. Behind me I heard a snicker before it turned into a full blown chortle. My brother, the ever amused sadist who found pleasure in the most embarrassing of moments, had most likely heard something of worthwhile I was passed out. My only hope was that I didn't talk in my sleep, or moan, or moan Shizuo's name or, God forbid, all three.

"…Good morning," I said hesitantly, looking only at Carney and Setsuko as they ate breakfast. Shizuo sat across from them, right behind me as I turned to acknowledge my brother and his would-be bride, ignoring him fully for fear of having said something embarrassing. Not to mention that I couldn't quite look at him properly at the moment. The simple memory of his hands on me was bringing my mind to a boil before I pushed it to the back of my brain for later.

" 'Morning. How was dream land?" Carney asked me through a mouthful of toast, grinning cheekily as he did so.

"Ah—good! It was good," I said, fumbling for words that were safe to use.

"You were moaning in your sleep, so it must have been pretty good," he snickered, taking another bite. Beside him Setsuko blushed, quietly nibbling as she avoided her eyes.

"Yeah, an entire country made of chocolate and marshmallow," I lied, twisting around in my seat to face the table and its occupants.

"Did you eat it all? 'Cause you were saying 'More! More! Please more!' in your sleep," he said, imitating me to a fault, making me grit my teeth in irritation at my unconscious self and his continued insistence on wanting to know what I was dreaming about.

"There was a limited supply of butterscotch and I was pissed when there wasn't any more left," I told him, thinking of how to end this conversation quickly.

"A limited unlimited supply of candy?"

"Yeah."

"That's the story you're going with?" he asked me, setting down his half eaten toast and leveling a "tell-me-all-your-secrets" stare on me.

"That's the story that happened," I confirmed, noticing out of the corner of my eye Shizuo's blank stare on me, like he knew I was lying to cover something up. Which I was, that was a no-brainer.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Really."

"Yes!" I said, raising my voice, pissed he wouldn't drop it and accept my lie.

"Really."

"Fine! I was having a sex dream! Are ya happy?!" I yelled, caving in when he wouldn't shut up and stop saying that _word_. I _hated_ when he used that word repeatedly during interrogations. The worst was when he was looking for a video game I broke and he kept saying it monotonously for four hours straight.

He reacted with disgust, covering his ears and falling backwards onto the floor. "No! Why did you tell me?!" he asked, yelling as he rolled side to side. Beside him Setsuko blushed shyly and across from them Shizuo coughed into his hand uncomfortably, his ears turning pink at my confession.

"Then why did you keep hounding me for the truth?!" I asked him, my face burning in embarrassment and anger at his unexpected reaction. If anything I expected him to laugh at me or tease me—although neither option was desirable. "What are you doing up anyway? It's like seven in the morning, even when you went to high school you didn't wake up 'til nine thirty at the earliest." I said, grabbing a piece of toast off of the plate in the middle of the table and sticking most of it in my mouth.

"It's Ikebukuro, I wanted to go explore before it gets crazy. That and Setsuko kicked me out of bed this morning and I couldn't go back to sleep after that," he whined from the floor, ceasing his rolling in favor of just lying there lazily.

"Oh yeah, about that. I have work in an hour so we should probably get going now," I said subtly changing his plans for minimal destruction.

"Where do you work?" Setsuko asked while Carney went still, processing what I said.

"Bakery," I answered, "and if we don't leave now I'm going to be late." This caught Carney's attention, making him sit up straight with a flourish and regarding me with indignation and defiance.

"Why do we have to come with you? We're adults, we don't need a babysitter."

I stood up, finishing my toast and looking down at him with a sneer. "You are in a huge city with gangs and Yakuza and human traffickers. Don't assume you're safe just because you have a katana and sadistic personality, Dipstick," I told him, leaning far enough over the table to stick my face in his, trying to make a point. "And if you don't believe me, then I'll just have to make you an offer you can't refuse."

He looked at me curiously for a moment before asking, "Didn't you once say that you were above bribing people?" Across from him Shizuo chocked, putting down the glass of milk he was previously drinking to put a hand over his mouth while he coughed. "Maybe that's not true anymore?" he asked again, taking Shizuo's chocked silence as evidence that I had previously revoked my once somewhat flimsy rule. Although, then again, when was it ever a rule?

"All you need to do is wait out five hours in a bakery and then I will personally give you a tour of Ikebukuro until five," I started, waiting to see what his initial reaction would be.

"Five hour wait for a four hour tour? You're running a cheap business, Nee-san. Why until five?" he asked, giving me no insight as to his answer, although I haven't really sweetened the deal yet, which is probably why he was hedging.

"Second job starts at five, and despite the first two hours of it just helping set up, I cannot afford to cut out a few hours," I explained to him. This was taking too long, if we didn't cut to the chase soon I'd end up being late for work and Kyoko will probably bitch about endlessly.

"What happened to us at five?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes."

"What's in it for me if I take the deal?" he asked, referring only to himself since Setsuko—this being the first time she had been in a big city—would do whatever she felt was safest. And yet she chose to be my psychotic brother's girlfriend.

"All the cinnamon bun cake you could possibly eat…at half-price."

"Half-price?"

"I can't give it away for free and I don't want to fully pay for your craving/addiction," I explained.

He thought this deal over for a bit—which in my opinion was way too long considering I now had a little less than forty minutes to get to work which from here took half an hour to walk—before offering a counter proposal. "Three hour wait and you pay half for lunch."

"Four hours and I pay in full. Now do we have a deal or not? Any longer and I'll have to run to work." This kid. How much of Mom's manipulation did he learn in all those years under her tutelage?

"Yeah, as long as lunch is free," he agreed before downing the rest of his orange juice and standing up, stretching as he did so before walking around the table towards the bathroom. Setsuko remained in her kneeling position, her satchel beside her as she finished her breakfast in a relaxed manner. Across from her Shizuo did the same, gulping down the rest of his milk before taking the empty dishes from the table and standing up, going into the small kitchen area and placing them in the sink.

"Shizuo, did you make them breakfast?" I asked him, looking over my shoulder at him with a slightly curious expression. Seeing as yesterday my brother had tried to filet him and my boyfriend had been nearly five inches away from knocking him away a clear three blocks minimum, I'd have expected them to be on edge around the other and at each other's throats. Then again my brother wasn't a cold, manipulative bastard who got off on seeing how others reacted to certain situations. I mean, he was slightly manipulative when it came to getting his way and getting free food but he's way more violent and…warm? No, not warm. Then again he isn't cold so he was to be warm.

"Yeah. They were hunger so I fed them," Shizuo said, leaving the dishes in the sink as he walked back over to pick up his bow tie off the tabletop.

"When did me and my family become pets?" I asked him, picking up the bowtie before he could and dangling it in front of him mockingly, thinking back to the puppy on the birthday card he gave, the one he said reminded him of me.

"Not all of them," he replied, reaching for the bowtie only to grab air when I held it just out of reach. I raised myself up on my tiptoes and pecked his bottom lip.

"Doesn't that make me happy," I said sarcastically, reaching up to wrap the bowtie around the collar of his shirt and secure the clip at the base of his neck.

"Hey! If you two are done being all lovey-dovey and making me sick, can we go now?" came Carney's lisp-filled voice as he reappeared in the bedroom doorway, having exchanged his t-shirt with a plain black sweatshirt, the strap of his katana slung across his chest and the scabbard against his back and nearly imperceptible had the hilt not been poking out like a sore thumb behind his head.

"Yeah yeah, don't get your panties in a twist, Otouto-kun," I said flippantly walking past him to change my clothes and find my wallet and keys.

"Don't get your men's boxer shorts in a bunch Nee-chan," he rebutted, walking away towards the door where Setsuko now stood patiently, having just finished her meal and changed clothes earlier. Yeah, there was a strong possibility that this would be a long day. Although with my luck combined with my psychotic brother's habits there was also the possibility that it would be bad. Well, maybe if I was lucky it would just be boring.

_DRRR!_

"Come on, answer the question seriously!"

"That was serious, accept the answer and move on."

"There is no way that's true."

"Yes it is! You're temperaments match perfectly, you should be flattered since they're a fine animal," Carney said, putting another forkful of cake in his mouth, this piece being his fourteenth. Currently I was leaning against the glass countertop beside the cash register, waiting for customers to come in or people to call. In the back room Miss Yuumi worked on baking bread, Setsuko working right beside her since, as Miss Yuumi put it oh-so-delicately the same week I started here, I sucked at everything that had to do with making bread.

"I am _not_ a Shiba Inu! Nor do I resemble one," I said indignantly, straightening up while he continued to slouch in his chair, the last morsel of cake disappearing down his gullet. While I continued to argue against the question I had posed to him several minutes ago—what kind of pet we all resembled in one way or another—I also questioned myself where, in his thin body, he put all that cake in the last three hours.

"Okay," he started, setting down his fork on his empty plate and crossing his legs at the ankle, "let's go over this one more time. You're both high-spirited, act like you're big when in reality you're small, pretty good reflexes, good runner, strong desire to escape being locked up—or however you define trying to gnaw through rope—"

"You tied me to a chair and hung me from a tree—"

"Which you later used on your chosen victims with a slight variation on which way they were hanging. Stop interrupting, I'm on a roll," he said, admonishing me. "Going on, you both have some aggression, are stubborn and possessive, and, as much as it pains me to say, you're both clever…you can talk now if you want, I'm done listing all the similarities," he added cheekily, forcing me to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from yelling back a long strain of obscenities as a customer came in.

"If I'm a Shiba Inu, then what are you?" I asked him when the person left soon after, a bag of various sweet breads gripped tightly in his hand as he glanced at my brother cautiously, like if he didn't watch him he would attack him.

I couldn't really blame him since my brother had that air about him, not to mention that he was glaring at him for interrupting our conversation. Rolling my eyes I walked over to him and slapping him upside the head with my good hand. "You wouldn't suit being a cat—a small one anyway. So then what king of dog are you?"

"Hey, I know I'm not perfect. Clearly I'm a Doberman."

"Don't Dobermans guard people and, you know, not the opposite?"

"Do you want a second opinion?"

"A second opinion is better than your opinion," I told him bitterly, walking into the kitchen and finding a floured mess. "Hey! What'd I say about wasting flour?!" Unfortunately their opinions were the same, with even Miss Yuumi agreeing that I resembled a Shiba Inu she had once owned when Kyoko and her brother were children. It was sad how true it was when she showed me a picture; the bronze/yellow of its fur darker than most, almost a red color.

As upset as I was about Shizuo's ("true") assessment, I didn't let it get to my head. Nope. I absolutely did _not_ let it get to my head.

"_What do you mean he's right?! There is absolutely no way that I am a Shiba Inu!_"

Yeah, I'm totally not letting this go to my head. Luckily before I could launch into another argument—the likes of which I probably had no chance of winning since it seemed everyone I knew agreed on that one singular point—a customer appeared, saving me from a long one-sided argument. Pinching the pressure point on my ear, I reappeared inside the front room of the bakery, a smile on my face and my anger simmering under the surface as it slowly dwindled.

"Hello! Welcome to Sakura Bakery, how may I help you?" I asked the scruffy looking man who had just come in. Would scruffy be the right word? More so he looked sketchy with his beige trench coat, newsboy hat and unshaven face.

"Yeah, 'cause that didn't sound rehearsed at all," Carney said from his self-assigned table. The scruffy-looking man seemed not to take notice of him—that or he didn't care—and approached the glass counter that doubled as my work station and tripled as my unusual sleep spot, staring at me as he did so before speaking. Good thing too, I was about twenty seconds away from having my new self-appointed guard dog beat him to the ground for staring at me so long.

"You're Tachibana Amai, right? Heiwajima Shizuo's girlfriend?" he asked me, making my smile drop from my face and my eyes narrow in suspicion.

"You a cop?" I asked him, getting a reaction in the form of a small surprised widening of the eyes.

"Not a cop, too dingy looking," Carney replied for him, making the man in front of me look over at him with acknowledgement.

"Undercover cops can look like anything."

"Ever seen one like that?" he asked, giving him a once over before turning away with a short laugh.

"Yeah, you're right. Are you a reporter? And if so which one? If you name the one I know then I'll do to you what I promised I would do to them."

"What did you promise?"

"Standard stuff. So answer the question and if you answer it correctly I won't beat you to a pulp," I said sweetly, turning my attention away from my brother to the man.

"Oh…okay, my name is Shuji Niekawa. I'm with _Tokyo Warrior_…?" he said, handing me a business card and trailing off and looking for approval that I wouldn't hurt him.

"You're safe, go on," I told him, glancing over the card and throwing it onto the countertop dismissively.

"_Tokyo Warrior_? Our brother loves that magazine. Doing any special stories?" Carney asked him.

"Yes actually, that's why I'm here. See, I'm doing a story on Ikebukuro's toughest man and the people I've talked to say it's Shizuo Heiwajima—"

"Obvious."

"I've been here less than two days and even _I_ know that."

"So then what are you doing here?"

"You know him on a personal level so I'd like to ask some questions about him," he explained, taking out from his pocket a small notepad and pen.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" I asked him, although the answer was kind of obvious.

He laughed a little, sighing pathetically and looking away in embarrassment. "I actually tried to yesterday but…it didn't go…that well," he said, before adding, "He really has a hair trigger, doesn't he."

"You didn't research him all that well, did you," I said grinning, wishing I had seen it happen. If only because it was always fun to watch Shizuo fight.

"That is the reason why I'm here after all. After I met him, well, after he sent me flying through the air, he brought back this rush I felt when I was young. If you could just answer some questions for me," he explained, getting a little excited and looking at me expectantly. Taken aback by the unusual amount of attention I dumbly agreed, counting the questions in my head so I had a limit—not that he needed to know of course.

"How long have you known Shizuo Heiwajima? And how did you meet?" he started.

"Ever since February. I actually hated him at first because the first time I ever met or heard of him he threw a deadbeat through the store window."

"Really? How did you get together if you hated him then?" he asked, curious. I gave him a look, coupled with stony silence before telling him outright that I wasn't answering questions about our interpersonal relationship. "Oh, sorry, that was just my own curiosity. I'll ask a different question: Have you ever seen him in a fight?"

And so it went on for a few more questions, all circling around his fighting style and personality, and all questions I answered vaguely with Carney putting in his own personal opinion. At one point he asked me about his brother, to which I laughed and replied that while I had never met him, I knew enough not to mention him in front of Shizuo. When I gave the reporter the same advice he simply laughed a little and looked sheepish—instant clue that he had mentioned him in his presence.

"Man~ I'd wish I'd have seen it~. He looks so cool when he fights! Super sexy," I said almost to myself, leaning heavily on the counter and practically drooling at the image of the last time I had seen him fight Izaya—although that may have also been coupled with the fact that I wanted Izaya to get pummeled into the ground.

"You don't think his power if terrifying? That he's frightening?" he asked me, making me bark out a short laugh.

"Terrifying? He's amazing! His body's the personification of awesomeness! His brain doesn't have the limit that normal brains have, which is why he can use his full strength. It's amazing what the human body can do when you take off the restraints and screw the consequences, and it's even more amazing the way his body could take the constant abuse and come back even stronger! Nnn~ he's so cool!" I gushed, babbling like a fangirl—or like Erika.

"Really, so you don't feel—"

"Sorry, that's all the questions I'll be answering," I interrupted holding up a hand to stop him.

"But—I—"

"Dude, quit while you're ahead. She's won't be answering any more questions, she's stubborn like that, you know, like a Shiba Inu," Carney told him, interrupting his stunted sentence and making me narrow my eyes at him.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll move on then," he said disappointed, closing the note pad and stuffing it and the pen inside his coat pocket and turning to leave.

"Aw~ don't be that way Niekawa-san. Hey, if it'll make you feel better I'll give you the name of someone Shizuo knows," I said, dangling the bait in front of his nose. It worked, causing him to stop in his tracks and turn back asking me who it was. "Ah ah, the interview was free, but the name isn't," I said, causing him to go sour and turn halfway away.

"I can just ask someone outside for free if I want."

"Yeah, you could, but how reliable, nay, true would it be?" I asked, smiling like a Cheshire cat as he stubbornly pulled out his wallet and crossed back over, placing a few thousand Yen bills on the counter in front of me. "Keep it coming, I gotta pay for this one's lunch later and he's a big eater despite the thin structure." He forked over another five thousand begrudgingly and I swept it up and folded it in half, smiling mockingly as I placed it in the front of my pocket.

"His name's Simon Brezhnev. He works over at Russia Sushi a couple blocks down from here. And yes, that is how he speaks."

"Thank you for the information."

"Thank you for your collaboration," I said, smiling as he left the shop and walked quickly away down the street without a second glance. "Heh, easiest ten thousand Yen I ever made," I said happily, taking the money back out and counting it.

"Are you saying that in general? Or was standing on the street corner all night not paying off as well as you'd hoped?" Carney asked, pushing the plate towards the edge of the table and propping his feet up on the table and leaning far back in his chair, far enough that if I were to place a five Yen coin on his head it would cause him to fall onto the floor.

"Suck it, Dipstick, when was the last time _you_ made this much?" I asked him subtracting from the amount the money I owed for the three cakes he single-handedly ate and placing it inside the cash register.

He tilted his head back, making his chair wriggle a bit, and thought for a moment, mouthing random words and numbers as he thought to remember the amount he got and person he got it from. "Are we talking ten thousand even or in the ballpark?" he asked before continuing on anyway, "I made a few hundred thousand yen pawning off parts of my enemy's car."

I froze before giving an exasperated sigh and giving him a "what-the-hell" look. "Your enemy? You mean Yuuki's brother?"

"Hey, that dick will be my enemy until he stops hitting on Setsuko and gives me back the bike he destroyed!" he said loudly, setting his chair back on the ground and his shoes off the table.

"Twelve years and you still hold a grudge for an accident out of his control?"

"Yeah, like you're one to talk."

"Okay fine, I'm not, but I'm not the one facing jail time." he looked at me with a near pitying face and said:

"Oh ye of little faith, how you doubt me with not getting a proper alibi and fake departure time, Nee-san."

"Little…I don't even know what to call you."

"Call me what you want, just don't think you can psyche me out, Nee-san," he said, relaxing back in his chair and going back to his former position while I walked around the counter and approached his lean body.

"Just wait until…five tonight, then I'll try my luck again at psyching you out," I told him, leaning my hip against the table and reaching out to touch his forehead, pressing down on it lightly and watching amused as he fell backwards, his arms wheeling to catch something to stop his fall but ultimately failing as he hit the ground hard. Yeah, I would enjoy tonight, or, more specifically, I would enjoy his reaction.

_DRRR!_

The look was nearly priceless, as was the several minutes of stunned silence before he said, astonishingly and thoroughly surprised, "_What the fuck is this?!_" and took several steps back from the display of dancing, grinding, and flamboyant gay men in front of him.

"_This_ is where I work," I told him, putting a hand on top of my head to make sure my wig was secure before slapping my hat on top of his head for safe keeping. "And because you made me late, you get to spend the _whole _night here," I added, sitting him down in one of the stools beside Setsuko in front of the bar with some force before sliding back behind it. "Hey, just because I know who uncomfortable you, I'll give you a tip. If you act flippant and try to brush them off—"

"They'll leave me alone?" he asked hopefully, swiveling his seat around to face me and turn his back on the gay men behind him while Setsuko did the opposite.

"No, they'll only want you more. Some of them do _not_ give up their target," I told him, squatting down behind the bar and scrounging around the kegs and bottles before giving up and going into the back to find a non-alcoholic champagne. Maybe if I told him it had alcohol he'd loosen up a bit because of the placebo effect.

"Alcoholic, alcoholic, alcoholic…Hey Akira-san! Where's all the non-alcoholic shit?! I can't find anything back here!" I yelled, calling for my boss in the back room, but jumping ten feet in the air when he came out of the dance room and surprised me.

"Amai-tan~ who's that little cutie over at the bar by Minori-chan?" he asked me once I got my heart rate back down to normal.

"That's my nineteen-year-old brother, Carney. He and his girlfriend are visiting for a few days before heading down to Shinjuku and due to some circumstances I had to bring them along tonight," I told him, getting a step ladder from beside the door to see if the higher shelves had the things I sought before Akira pointed to a bottle in the far corner of the back room storage area. While I got down off the step ladder, he went over and grabbed it for me, handing it to me before leaving, going behind the bar to chat with them for a bit. In truth I only wanted to bring Carney with for the sheer fun of it, not to mention I wanted to make sure he didn't raid my roommate's apartment—even _I _hadn't done that yet and that was for two reasons: respect and the knowledge that he was single for nearly a year and on a "no men" cleanse. I would have left Setsuko at home with Moo-Moo and her kitten, but she insisted on coming along for a social study. I guess taking a week off of school was making her antsy.

_DRRR!_

Like I told him several hours before, if you're cold and aloof—or whatever the hell I said—you'll only make them want him more. I was right, until he said, and I quote, "Get the fuck away from me or I swear to God that you won't have to go to a doctor for a sex-change." It might have been either the threat or the small knowledge that there would be no anesthesia, but the several guys hovering around him quickly backed off, severely off put by his attitude and the feel of rejection. Despite this though he had one person who stayed and flirted, even when Carney gave the poor kid nothing but cold stares.

"All I'm asking for is one dance. Please? Just one and I won't bother you anymore, I promise," the kid said, his hands folded together in plea. While this was a club and bar made expressly for adults, we sometime's got underage kids—course when I say kid I really mean no less than seventeen or eighteen.

"God! Just give it up kid! I'm not gay and I'm not dancing! The only reason I'm here is because my stupid sister doesn't trust me," Carney said, finally snapping at him, but he only succeeded in making him flinch before coming back with something he couldn't argue against.

"Did you know that the more you deny something, the more it ends up being true?" the kid said, narrowing his eyes and smiling at his reaction. His reaction being, of course, stunned silence followed immediately by his mouth opening and closing as he sought a comeback. Eventually he gave up and asked me for help.

"Hey Amai, can I get some help here?" he asked, unwilling to turn his eyes on me as he looked at the boy next him, like if he took his eyes off him he would attack him.

"Nah, I'm good just watching from here," I said happily, watching with amusement as he looked over at me and growled in frustration, letting his head drop forward before he flopped it back to stare at the ceiling, a large frown on his face as he snarled in defeat and named his terms.

"I'll give you one dance, but don't touch me anywhere below my stomach, got that kid?"

"So shoulders are cool?" I asked him, hoping to rub in some salt.

"Cram it, Amai," was his response before he slid off the stool and stalked to the very edge of the dance floor, far enough away from anyone else. The kid before me grinned happily and hopped off the chair, practically racing to where Carney stood.

"Aw~ don't they make a cute couple?" I asked aloud watching the kid fret and fidget nervously while Carney mostly moped. Setsuko simply stared, the slightest bit of amusement on her face as she watched with me before she turned away and asked me something.

"Um, Amai-chan can I ask you something?"

"Well, you just did, but fell free to continue."

"Carney-kun told me what you said in the interview. You really love him, don't you?" she asked me, although her question felt more like a statement.

"Yeah, just don't tell him that, I've yet to say it in words as a statement," I answered, getting out my phone to take a picture—or maybe a video?—of the scene before me, but stopped when the chat room I visited appeared on my phone by itself. _'Did I leave it on by accident?'_ I asked myself, scrolling through the messages before a long list of red caught my eye. _'Oh great, I guess "Kanra" couldn't ban this guy,'_ I thought, skimming past the repeating messages. Instead of reading mother, it was back to random ass, stunted messages. Failing? Waiting? Who was this freak and what where they waiting for at South Ikebukuro Park? A lot more messages went by and while most of them read the same thing, a few of them also now read love. Lots of love apparently if the amount of kanji on the page meant anything. It wasn't until I came across his name that I froze in confusion and mild anger.

"Setsuko, can you read me the name on here and tell me what it says? I think my eyes are trying to trick me," I asked her, holding the phone out for her to look. She squinted her eyes and pushed her glasses up further on her nose, reading the screen for a moment before saying what I already knew.

""I'm waiting at South Ikebukuro Park, Shizuo. Come to me, come to me again. I'm waiting Shizuo. I'll wait all night if I have to. I love you. I'll wait Shizuo and I'll love you. I'll love you too. I too. I love you too."…Amai-chan…what does this mean?" Setsuko asked me timidly while I fought every instinct in my body not to break my phone in half and throw it at someone.

"What does it mean? _What does it mean?!_ It means some two-bit slut is trying to steal my boyfriend and that bitch is waiting in the park! Carney! _Carney!_ Get your thieving little ass over here! I need you to help me steal a car!" I yelled, ripping the short blond wig off of my head and letting my bright red hair fall like a curtain against my back. "Taka-chan!" I shouted, startling the man as I shoved the wig in his direction, "Watch Setsuko for me and don't let her out of your sight." He nodded furiously, while I got out from behind the bar and dragged my brother off the dance floor towards the front door, all the while he shouted at the kid he was formerly dancing with to call the number he had given him. for a second I wondered what number he had given him and why he had done so, but a glance down at my phone made the fire burning in my chest all the bigger.

I got as far as three feet from the door before my boss's voice caught me and forced me to turn back to him in question. "Amai-tan! Where the hell do you think you're going?!" he asked me, crossing the bar area in long strides.

"To find the bitch trying to steal my boyfriend!" I answered, earning a chorus of cheers and support from my coworkers, ranging from 'you go girl' to 'give that bitch hell!' and ultimately forcing Akira's approval. It's not like I needed the permission since I would have gone even if he wanted me to stay, but it's nice to know that my job would be intact when I was finished with my business.

"You're not even going to ask me why I need your help to steal a car?" I asked Carney while I waited for him to finish breaking in. Quickly after we had exited the club, we walked the near-empty street looking for a suitable car—suitable in this case being that it had little to no security and could drive fast—and when we had found one, Carney went to work, popping the hood expertly and messing around in the engine.

"Not really, I already know you're a terrible driver and since you have a bicycle you would have no need to drive or steal a car. So you most likely got rusty," he answered, disabling the security and unlocking the doors.

"Actually my bike was stolen a few years ago, but right when you said I've gotten rusty." While my tone may have seemed conversational and my overall attitude nonchalant, I was still raging inside while looked over the new messages appearing on my phone, growing more and more murderous with each declaration of "love". _'I swear, if I have to wait any longer to kill this bitch…'_ I trailed off, snarling as another message went by and freezing when a new message—different from the rest—popped up on screen.

Saika: I found her

Saika: I found her

Saika: Amai

Saika: Amai Tachibana

Saika: Cut

Saika: I'll cut her

Saika: I'll love her

Saika: He'll be mine

Saika: I'll cut her. He'll come

Saika: Amai Tachibana. Cut

Saika: Cut her. Make her one of us

"Hey Amai?" Carney asked, his voice normal as he spoke beside me, "Who are they?"

He remained normal, and why shouldn't he? He hadn't just read creepy threatening messages, not to mention with all the creepy shit he watches, I doubt he'd be surprised by a smallish group of five people with glowing red eyes and glinting pieces of metal in their hands slowly advancing on us. Me? I might have been more accustomed than Colm ever could be what with Hikaru's fascination with cheesy slasher flicks, but to have it happen in real life was making my skin crawl.

W

H

O

.

A

R

E

.

Y

O

U

?

Karin: Who are you?

I typed into the small screen, not once taking my eyes off the seemingly possessed people in front of me. What they typed back sent a swath of ice water down my back and along my spine and what they said had the same effect.

Saika: We are Saika

"Let us love you Amai Tachibana."

Saika: Cut. I want to cut you

Saika: Love. I want to love you

Saika: Cut. Love

Saika: I love you. Love you. Love

"We love you too Amai Tachibana, we love everyone, now become one of us so we can love you all more."

And to think, this day started off with such a great dream.


	54. Chapter 54: Red Eyed Bitch

**Happy Halloween!**

"Hey Amai, how much you wanna bet they'll start saying "join us" in unison?" Carney joked, not taking the situation seriously even though the very real possibility of death was right in front of us.

"Shut up, Dipshit, and get out of the car," I said angrily, snapping the phone shut and slipping it into my back pocket, watching the tallest of the five take a single step forward, his movements puppet-like and awkward.

"Wouldn't it be easier for you to get in the car and for me to run them over?" he asked, leaning over the passenger seat to talk to me, his face as serious as forty-year-old lawyer in a custody battle.

"_Carney!_"

"Relax…I'm sure they'll jump out of the way," he continued, causing me to glare at him in contempt before I figured out a far more nonviolent solution.

"Yeah, I'm sure they would. But, then again, where would the fun in that be?" I asked him, playing on his weakness of having fun while being a sadist. He frowned, his mouth screwing up into a snarl as he realized the cowardly implications of his plan and the empty feeling that he wouldn't be inflicting any real damage himself.

"You're right. Which one you want? The short one, the tall one, the nerd one, or the body builder, 'cause I can go for any of them," Carney said, trampling over his earlier plan of a poor attempt at a hit-and-run as he scooted into the passenger seat and opened the door.

I looked over at him, smirking lightly in preparation of a joke. "Really? I would've pegged you for skinny seventeen-year-old with a fake ID," I told him, snickering at the earlier memory of Carney giving him a phone number before we left the club to complete my arduous task.

Before Carney could say anything to the contrary a knife whizzed past my nose, barely skimming the edge of it and bringing my attention back to the group of red-eyed people, one of which had been getting impatient with our blatant disregard of them.

"You don't have a good sense of danger, do you? Amai Tachibana," the tall one asked, straightening out of his lunge between me and my brother, tilting his head far to the left side, a large grin on his face as he regarded me, his…butcher knife!—laying limply by his side before being brought up high above his head, the edge of the big blade gleaming threatening. "Or maybe this happens often?" he asked before bringing the knife down in front of me, embedding in the asphalt as I stumbled back reflexively.

I scowled at this smiling face, watching silently as Carney grabbed the man's upper arms and stepped on his back, forcing him to the ground and sliding his hands down to grip his wrists tightly while pulling them back. "The only times I have to deal with knives is when I hang out with a certain Eskimo; granted I haven't done that in a few months on account of him being the single biggest asshole I've ever met," I explained, the sneer never leaving my face as I wrenched the butcher knife from his hand and left him to my brother, regarding the other three men and the woman who stood at the forefront of the pack.

"Who are you and why do you "love me"?" I asked them, gripping the knife handle tightly and waiting for the first in a long series of answers to the questions I would have to ask to even remotely begin to understand something that was insane on all levels.

"Like we said, we are Saika. And don't be so flattered, we love all humanity, and as part of the human race you're included amongst the millions," the woman answered, smirking at me like a bitch.

"Gee…I'll try not to let the disappointment cloud my judgment when I kick your little ass," I growled, unwilling to let anything they said make me angrier than I already was. She snickered, unimpressed, and opened her mouth to add on.

"We're already aware that you don't like us, Amai Tachibana. We heard your little speech earlier in that club. It was so moving how you wanted to "find the bitch trying to steal your boyfriend" that we just couldn't resist the chance to meet you halfway," she laughed rather eerily, the two men at her side matching her pitch while the third simply grinned. "So we'll indulge you in your little fantasy before making you one of us." She ended with a show of flicking her switchblade in my direction.

Yeah, like I'm going to be intimidated by a switchblade not operated by a psychotic dick.

The two men beside her—a short, middle-aged man and what looked to be a third year high school student—moved towards me, their movements, like the first man's, were puppet-like and somewhat mechanical before their movements sped up and they ran, carving knives raised slasher movie-esque. Paired with their wide, sick grins they looked like a pair of crazed killers—or white-collar workers who snapped under the pressure.

"It'll hurt, but since you're a masochist you'll enjoy it," I heard the woman say in the background, my senses focused on the pair rushing me—and possibly trying to kill me. It's not like I wasn't used to frontal assaults—or added weapons—but it's not as if it happened infrequently, yet, after multiple viewings of horror, supernatural and cheesy zombie shows, I was taken by surprise in the snap change of speed, raising my arms defensively in front of me, the cast on my right arm a better defense than the butcher knife in terms of blocking.

Their blades didn't make contact however. Although I couldn't see it past my crisscrossed arms and the dim lighting from a nearby street lamp, it was obvious from the glaring of the two men and the slightly shaking knives that Carney and Kuroshi had intervened on my behalf, the small slice of Carney's face that I could see upturned in a malicious smile of his sadistic pleasure.

"Ganging up on a girl? Even if she's a tomboy, it's not very gentlemanly of you," Carney snickered, one hand on the hilt and another on the back of the black blade, pushing back the men's force with relative ease before forcing them back altogether, their bodies stumbling a bit and their grins turned upside down in a fierce grimace. "Although I'm not one to talk either since I ditched my girlfriend for a fight against freaks—"

"There are plenty of other examples besides that one, it's just the one that happened in the last twenty minutes," I cut in, lowering my arms and looking at the back of his head with a deadpan expression. Carney scoffed, obviously feeling a little dejected that I wasn't more thankful for his save, yet not at all surprised by my lack in appreciation. I guess it came with me living with him for near sixteen years. I looked from the two men to the remaining man and the woman, both of whom were smirking at the light turn in events. "Before we begin, I'd like to ask a couple more questions just so I know I haven't gone insane," I continued, stepping forward to stand beside Carney, tossing the butcher knife to the other side of the street and far enough away from the somewhat dissolved group and sticking my hand In my pocket, fingers wrapping around my bat in preparation of what was to come next.

"Despite having crossed that line ages ago you still feel the need to validate it?" Carney commented rudely. I ignored him focusing my attention on the woman since she seemed to be the leader of the group. She stared at me, nothing but a small smirk on her painted lips and a slight narrowing of her bright red eyes as she looked me up and down.

Maybe to see if I was serious?

"Fine then, we were meant to be a distraction anyway," she consented, lowering her knife a bit but not putting it away. Carney spoke before I could; asking his own question which, in retrospect, should have been my own considering it was creepy how they showed up out of nowhere.

"What, you were expecting her to get jealous and track you guys down like a dog?" he asked, the simile at the end irking me a bit in spite of the current situation.

"Isn't that obvious? You were bound to notice the love notes we posted all over the internet," she replied, answering my unspoken question rather than Carney's, "It wasn't meant to be a secret after all." She glanced at me, letting her smile deepen into a self satisfied smirk that further irked me.

I gritted my teeth, my eye twitching a bit at having been so easy to predict. "Why are your eyes red? And for that matter, what exactly is "Saika"? Some kind of cult?" I asked her—them…whoever, deciding to get the most basic questions out of the way first.

She grinned more—as if it were even possible as stretched out as it was—and answered with another question. "Why don't you let us cut you and find out?" It seemed obvious from this answer that we would be going round in circles and making no headway.

"Despite popular belief, I'm not a masochist. No matter how many times that bastard Izaya asks me," I said, murmuring the last bit in slight frustration and everlasting irritation that in the last four months, every time I somehow crossed paths with the red-eyed—or more so burgundy-eyed—man, he asked me how I was and followed it quickly with a jibe at me being a masochist. "Now answer the damn question or face the wrath of my ever increasing frustration!" I shouted, extracting my bat with a sharp flick of the wrist, the segments separating and locking into its pipe-like shape.

They stilled, staring at us with bright—yet dull—eyes and frozen smiles, taking in me: a snarl on my face that seemed to almost match threateningly with my bright red hair and a metal pipe by my side, and my brother: a bright red hat sitting dauntingly on his head, his pitch black blade positioned expertly in front of him—I bet he was happy to have some practice on "willing" victims since he turned legal.

"We are Saika. We love humanity. And you will join us so he may follow; either by will or by force," she answered cryptically, the two in front of us twitching back into motion in that somewhat zombie-like fashion that was sure to speed up again. I faltered, wondering what she meant by the last bit before a gleaming black sword literally cut through my vision as Carney swept it in front of me, barring me from taking a step forward. I looked over at him curiously, wondering what the hold-up was before seeing his smiling face—not that it was unusual to see it in this type of situation, it was just smaller than I would have expected.

"So I guess no more questions, huh?"

"…Not for now."

"Good, then remind me of Ma's three rules for combat," he commanded, taking on a more serious demeanor than usual.

I cracked a smile, snickering at the memory of Mom drilling these rules into our heads from an early age. "Yeah yeah, step one: provide adequate distraction. Step two: take advantage of their disadvantage. Step three: show no mercy," I recited habitually, itching to fight now that the opportunity presented itself.

"Oh right. I keep forgetting the first since it seems cowardly, so I'll let you do it," Carney said, taking his hand off the hilt and removing my hat from his head, holding it out for me to take.

"Brat, do I look like a coward to you?" I asked him, reaching across myself to take the hat's brim between my fingers and flicking it sharply at the man closest to me, obscuring his vision for a moment while I took the upper hand, wrapping my fingers tighter around the base of the segmented pipe and bringing it up, the blunt edge connecting with the middle-aged man's jaw and causing his head to snap sharply to the side and stumble back.

Carney—ever the hypocrite—took advantage of the distracted high-schooler, grabbing the hand that held his choice of weapon—a hunting knife judging from the serrated edge—and pulled his arm straight, wrist bent back towards the ground with his inner arm exposed to the sky.

'_Shit!'_ I thought, recognizing the look in his eye and the stance he took: right leg grounded with his left knee perfectly centered underneath the teenager's straightened elbow. "_Carney_! Nothing that needs more than a few days to heal! Meaning: do _not_ break the poor kid's arm!" I shouted at him, narrowly dodging a sharp jab at my side as the old man regained his footing and lunged low, the tip of the knife ripping through the faux leather of my corset.

I glanced down at the tear briefly, irritated that I was being distracted by low-rank flunkies and the fact that I now had to figure out how to fix this before I was billed for damages. "You're durable," I told the old man, dropping my bat and grabbing the back of his corduroy jacket and forcing him onto his back before stamping my foot down on his wrist, snapping it in the process and making him let go of his shitty pig sticker as he gasped, the air having been knocked out of him and the pain of his broken wrist having just reached his brain. "My clothes, however, are not."

Carney scoffed, probably thinking I was a hypocrite since I caused several weeks of recovery in a simple move. I wouldn't fight the accusation since I had a slight tendency of doing that, but only if he acknowledged the fact that he had a habit of flying off the handle when it suited him. "He who strikes first wins," he said, as if I needed a reminder of one of the few favorite sayings Mom taught us.

"Same goes for "he who laughs last, laughs longest" but there's still no proof that one's better than the other," I shot back, watching silently as Carney abandoned his earlier plan of breaking the kid's arm in half with his knee and instead tossed him over his back and onto the ground. He glanced back at me, looking over my shoulder at the man and woman who continued to stand there before sheathing his sword and jerking his head at the pair. Curiously I looked, hearing a second sickening snapping sound the second I looked away to find no one there. At first I thought that Carney tricked me so he could do as he pleased but when I turned back around to yell at him I saw that he was looking around questioningly, the kid's hunting knife in his hand and his moaning body limp on the asphalt with his right arm bent far above his head.

"D'you think they ran away?" he asked, unsure where they could have gone in the short amount of time we had our backs turned. I looked with him, stooping to pick up my bat and hit the blunt edge once again against the middle-aged man's jaw, still apprehensive whether he would stay down this time or not.

"Was it necessary to dislocate his arm?" I asked him, paying no mind to his search as I walked closer to inspect the damage.

"I don't appreciate strangers trying to slice and dice my sister. Sorry if I'm not as forgiving as you," he said sarcastically, putting his search on hold to look over my own work with slight amusement. I scowled, trying to weigh which was worse in my mind until I saw slight movement beside the car we going to "borrow". "Anyway, where did those two go?" he asked, looking over the three on the ground before looking back over to the place the group had first appeared from.

I ignored him and walked over to the car, looking over the edges cautiously so nothing would pop up and surprise me with a fucking knife through my neck…it's possible that I've been watching too many horror movies with Colm in his preparations of his dates with Nanako.

"Dunno…but get your sword out anyway, you're making me nervous and I dislike the feeling," I told him getting down on my knees beside the front tire to check under the car. There was no way in hell I was leaving this car alone until I was sure nothing was going to stab me in the face. "Carney?" I called aloud when I didn't hear him grumble or mumble or retort something snarky. I detached my face from the asphalt and peeked over the top of the car to see what Carney was up to and instead found no one—no one standing and conscious at least.

"Carney, I swear if this is some kind of joke I'll kill you," I called out, standing up and brushing my pants off as best as I could with my plaster covered arm, looking up and down the street for the pests.

"Tch, please. Give me some credit, Amai, I know when a situation is too serious for bullshit," he suddenly spoke up from behind me, causing me to jump in fright and swing my bat around haphazardly before recognizing the sudden sound as Carney. He caught the bar deftly in a steel grip looking at it with unimpressed eyes before dropping it, letting it fall back to the ground with a metallic clang.

"Well with you one can never tell," I retorted, getting back on my hands and knees to inspect the underneath of the car before standing back up, confirming that what I might have seen was my own eyes playing tricks on me.

"Touché, but when the situation involves people who seem to be under some type of hypnosis even _I_ have boundaries," he answered, before adding a small yet alarming piece of news, "Oh, and the tall guy from before and the butcher knife disappeared, so we should probably be on high alert for that."

"No shit, Sherlock. Did you forget to knock the guy out before coming to my "rescue"?" I quipped, annoyed that he had forgotten something so basic it was almost sad.

"I did."

The sentence was almost unbelievable because of two reasons. The first was how he could have possibly knocked him out in the short amount of time it had also taken him to cross ten feet to stand directly in front of me and unsheathe Kuroshi to defend me. The second was fairly obvious, if he had knocked him out, then where was he? Where did he go? What was this vice-like grip around my ankle…!

"SHIT!" I yelled, my leg falling out from under me as the hand jerked it under the car, causing me to drop to the ground like a heavy stone and hit the back of my head against the pavement covered sidewalk. For the first time since autumn set in I saw stars in the sky, bright, multi-colored stars that were way too close. "_Fucking surprise zombie bastards!_" I shouted, shaking my leg to get the offending hand off, only to see a pair of glowing red eyes and the missing tall man's grinning face as he dragged me under the car.

"Holy crap!" Carney shouted, dropping his sword on the ground to grab my arms, pulling me in the opposite direction and nearly wrenching my arms out of their sockets. "Amai, do something useful and kick him in the face!" he instructed.

Yeah, like that thought hadn't crossed my mind a few dozen times, not to mention that since his nose looked flatter than it should be with a few dozen lacerations—the possible result of having his face smudged against the pavement—kicking him wouldn't do much. Although even if I were to kick him, it was kind of hard to do when the red-eyed freak grabbed my other leg and pulled me harder, jerking me out of Carney's—apparently weak—grip and under the car completely.

"How could he possibly love you? What is there to love about you?" he asked me, the edge of his butcher knife held against my neck while his other arm restrained upper body from lashing out against him. I stared at him like he was insane. Love? How can he possibly talk about love when he has a knife against my throat?

"Why don't you answer that question yourself since you were spouting plenty of crap before!" I snarled at him, angry that my bat was out of reach and these bastards kept popping up out of nowhere. He smirked, the knife pressing against my neck moving to my shoulder.

"You're human so we love you, but your personality is less than desirable—" he explained, surprise filling his face for a moment at some outside cause. "What the…" he murmured, his face turning away to look at whatever was outside the car and the blade lifting slightly from my bare skin, no longer a threat for the time being. I looked at him curiously, wondering what got him so distracted before he suddenly disappeared from beside me, his knife and his nails scratching the asphalt as he clawed to escape whatever was dragging him out.

Trying to see what had happened to him, I wriggled my body until I was somewhat parallel to him, seeing, with disappointment, the strange man's somewhat prone body and a pair of legs standing above him. The man began to snicker, looking up at Carney amusedly—at least I think it was Carney depending on the scuffed up pair of combat boots. I second later the man went limp with his head thrown to the side, the cause being my metal bat that now rested against the car door and my younger brother who was kneeling on the ground.

He reached under the car and I felt another pressure around my ankle while I briefly lamented that in the last five minutes I somehow turned into a ragdoll. Again I was pulled by my legs out from under the car, the various tubes and machinery of the car was traded in for the dark, bleak sky boarded by various sized buildings and the red tipped, black hair of my younger brother as he stared down at me with an annoyed expression.

"You realize this isn't a horror movie, right?" he asked me, pulling me up to my feet and leaving me to dust myself off while he went around the front of the car to retrieve his sword. I sneered at his back before looking down at the tall stranger, his face more battered now than it had before, before looking over at the old man and the teenager, making sure they were where we had left them.

"We haven't checked the alley yet, the other two might be hiding there," Carney continued, fixing his sword at his belt before walking back over to me, stooping down quickly to grab the man's collar and haul him off to the sidewalk, leaving him drop unceremoniously before going back for the old man. I copied him, going over to the teenager—who was still whimpering a bit due to his dislocated arm, and dragged him by the collar of his uniform jacket, depositing him more gently than my apathetic brother.

"You take the right, I'll take the left. Keep your ass covered," I told him, scooping my hat up off the ground where I had left it in my skirmish and slapping it against my thigh to get whatever shit there was off of it before slipping it onto my head.

"Keep your own ass covered. I don't wanna play hero if it's not gonna get me anything," Carney bit back, throwing me my weapon before brushing past me to the mouth of the alley.

"What if I bribed you?" I asked him, walking up beside him and staring into the dark alley.

"Sure, buy me a beer when this is over so I can forget I can forget I'm stuck doing this on a Friday night," he bargained, reaching into his pocket and taking out his keys, separating from the cut metal a small flashlight before turning it on with small audible click and shining the weak beam on the objects nearest to him.

"Are you legal?"

"No," he replied, walking a bit away from me to inspect a dumpster while I looked back the way we had come to make sure nothing was going to jump us.

"Do you have your fake ID?" I asked him, stopping when I thought I noticed something move by the corner of the alley. Maybe it was just my eyes tricking me again.

"He's living in the barn and still he finds my fake ID. The old man is skilled. Depressed, but skilled," he said, irritation coating his voice as I retraced my steps cautiously, not wanting the last time I thought I saw something to happen again.

"Hey Carney, get over here," I hissed, hearing definite footsteps around the corner of the entrance. He didn't answer immediately so I called him again, this time getting an answer in the form of a question.

"The people we're looking for are the body-builder and the woman, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. What, you forget or something?" I whispered, turning back to see what he was doing. Surprise and severe disappointment filled my vision as I took in the image of my brother—also annoyed—standing very still with a knife at his throat, the muscular zombie man standing behind him with a smirk on his face. "…I don't think Dad being skilled has anything to do with you having your ID taken," I told him blankly, the threat the man was giving me stalling any actions I would have taken.

"This one kind of got away from me," he replied, the grip he had on the handle of his katana tight, turning his knuckles white in the near darkness, "probably because I'm out of practice." As he was talking, the footsteps I heard earlier came closer to stand behind me. Without even looking I knew they had a large, creepy smile on their face and a knife at their side.

"Let's talk, Amai Tachibana, since regular methods don't seem to be getting through to you," the woman said, slight irritation in her voice.

"You all had the opportunity to talk before all this shit started, but you lost that chance," I told her, my own grip tightening on my bat as I looked back at her, watching my brother out of the corner of my eye.

"Then let's start over," she began, placing her hand on my shoulder and using her knife to point at Carney, "You and I are going to have a little chat, and if you don't, we'll make your brother one of us before you have a chance to save him," she bargained, ticking my last nerve. Scoffing, I nodded my consent, letting her turn me back towards the street and steer me away from the duo.

"Feicfidh mé a thabhairt duit cúig nóiméad a shórtáil seo amach duit féin," I said, watching Carney bob his head once in understanding, a grim expression on his face.

"What did you say to him?" she asked me, looking back him curiously, suspicious.

"Just to not do anything stupid so I won't get a fucking knife in my back," I lied when in reality I was planning to give him five minutes to sort his mess out himself. I followed her around the corner, stopping a few feet away from the mouth of the alley when she did and waited for her to say whatever it was that she wanted to say.

"To answer your first question, we are Saika, Saika is a blade in love with humanity and we are her children, born from the fear implanted in the people cut by mother. I trust this explanation should be simple enough to understand," she explained with a smirk, the penknife in her hand ever present as a reminder.

I bit the inside of my cheek before replying curtly, "I'm not an idiot, I just don't care anymore about what you are." It wasn't exactly a lie, but neither was it the truth, because while it was interesting to know the specifics, it wasn't what was important to me right now. "Why exactly do you love Shizuo?"

There was no hesitation before she answered; it was like she was waiting to explain the reasoning behind their obsession. "Because he's strong. That preposterous strength of his. The absolute extreme of human possibility, the most instinctual and violent strength imaginable. That's what we want. We want to rule all of humanity. And to do that, we need excellent offspring. Such as powerful specimens like him. Don't humans try to leave behind the best possible genes for the future?"

Love. What a fucking joke. "More than love, it sounds like you want to control him like a puppet or a remote control car," I replied, making light of their supposed love. Her reaction was obvious since I basically insulted their love, her face squished into a scowl and her hand gripped the knife tighter as she raised her voice.

"That's not true! Not control, we will possess him, he will be ours, he will be one of us!" she started rambling.

"You make your group sound like a cult, and your love, pft!" I said, laughing a bit at how she had phrased it, "don't get me started on superficial and shallow it sounds. Love? You make him sound like a toy." She screamed, lunging at me with the blade directed at my abdomen. If there was one thing I was good at, it was aggravating people to a certain point, the point here being that she wanted to stab me regardless of her earlier request to make me "one of them". This time I was ready and dropped the bat, leaving it to hit the concrete with a loud metallic clang as I grabbed her outstretched wrist, pulling her towards me a step sooner than she had originally intended and triggering her surprise as I grinned psychopathically at her before pushing her into the neighboring wall, my cast pressed against her neck with her knife wielding arm held tightly against the stone.

"Listen and listen well because I'm only going to say this once: fuck you and fuck your cult-like group of red-eyed bitches. I will never let you get the drop on me. I will never let you take Shizuo from me. I will never let you forget the reason why: you're not capable of loving him because you only love one aspect of him—" I said, my tone growing darker and more threatening with each word that passed through my lips, and my attitude growing more and more lethal until she so rudely interrupted me.

"Hypocrite. We know what you said earlier to that reporter. You love his strength as much as we do," she replied with enough nerve to smile mockingly at me, like she caught me in a lie or like she had found a loophole.

My eyes narrowed to slits before I smiled back at her, hissing my acknowledgement of her words. "That may be true since his power is something to be admired, but my love isn't limited to his strength, it's everything that makes him the Shizuo I know. And as bitchy as this may sound, with your shallow love you'll never understand him, you'll never truly love him, and you'll never capture his love." I tightened my grip on her wrist making her gasp out in pain, yet still she held the knife, as if it were a lifeline.

"How do you know? All it takes is one cut, one simple millimeter and he'll be one of us. Besides, you act as if you're more worthy of his love than we are…_but he's already accepted our love! So what is there to love about you?! What could he possibly love about you?!_" she screamed, baring her teeth like a wild animal as she fought back against my hold.

I shook her hand, trying to get her to lose her grip on the little knife and succeeding when it finally fell to the ground. Using my foot I kicked it away, the thin knife skidding to the middle of the entrance of the alley where my brother emerged just in time to stop it with his foot, stepping on it and breaking the blade in half.

"Hey, you almost done here?" he asked me, tears and blood strewn across his sweatshirt with the blade of his katana resting against his shoulder, its long edge dripping fresh blood.

"Almost, I just have to deliver the closing speech," I told him, directing my attention back to the struggling brunette looking at us with wide red eyes. "For yours and my brother's benefit, I'll paraphrase what I was going to say," I began, looking her dead in the eyes and daring her to interrupt me, "I don't like people trying to use my brother as a hostage. I don't like it when those same people try to stab me, and I especially don't like it when I see on my favorite chat room, proclamations of love for and plans on stealing my boyfriend! I'm going to let you go now, and if you feel like you have a chance of beating us both in a fight when four others couldn't then bring it, otherwise I suggest you start running."

I let go of her hand and back off of her, the texture imprint on her neck visible due to how hard I had it against her neck. She stared at me hard, her eyes filled with something akin to utter hatred—a total contrast to her earlier claim of love. She glanced briefly at Carney with the same look of derision and took in the long blade with its thin coating of red liquid before making a definite decision to flee. It was the proper choice seeing as it was two against one against people who didn't mind cheating to get the upper hand.

For a moment we watched her retreating back until it became a small blot against the background. By then any fight I had left in me drained out like water down the drain—although maybe that was the adrenaline I had coursing through my veins—as I recalled her earlier words. He had accepted their love. What did that mean? Did he love them back? Or did he just take them at face value, hollow words that he just wanted to hear?

"So Amai, do you still feel like going to the park? Or has this shit worn you out yet?" Carney asked, interrupting my trepidation that my love alone wasn't enough. I didn't answer him beyond picking up my collapsible bat and forcing it into its smaller, more travel friendly size—the deep gouge Carney made going through the middle of it making it slightly hard to do, but I didn't bug him about it, it was just a sure sign that his was a quality weapon. After stuffing it into my pocket I started walking in the same direction the woman had run off in, not stopping when Carney jogged to my side and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey Amai, where are you going?" he asked me, his hand slipping from my shoulder as I walked faster down the street.

"To embrace the oldest of Irish stereotypes," I replied, trying to remember which street to turn on while Carney asked me jokingly,

"I thought we just did that?"

"I mean the other one," I said with a sigh, finding the street leading into the middle of Ikebukuro and turning down it, hoping to find a good bar that was open past one in the morning.

"Can I come with?" he asked me, like he needed permission to do something he was going to do anyway.

"You sure? Setsuko might get mad if you ditch her longer than necessary," I told him, glancing at his slightly worn-out figure.

"If she's mad she tends to stay that way for awhile, so it's no big deal or anything," he said, removing Kuroshi from his belt and slipping the length of it into the back of his sweatshirt, flipping the hood up to cover the hilt and most of his hair, trying to look less conspicuous than he already did with his ripped and blood-speckled sweatshirt—good thing it was black, the blood nearly blended in, which reminded me.

"You okay? You didn't get scratched or anything, did you?" I asked him, making sure my brother didn't turn into a brainless puppet. He smirked, grabbing the bottom edge of his sweatshirt and plain undershirt and pulling it up to his pectorals, showing me his tanned, flawless underbelly and, upon seeing his wiry frame, commenting to myself the fact that he seemed to make cinnamon bun cakes vanish into thin air whenever he swallowed.

"All knife and no technique, he kept ruining my clothes whenever he got close enough," he answered, putting his clothes back down, covering his upper body when the chill night air got to be too much and rubbing his hands together. "You okay? I haven't seen you this dejected since officer what's-his-face dumped you like three years ago," he asked, one of his eyebrows rising in rare slight concern for my wellbeing.

I shrugged in response, finding with small delight a small bar with a somewhat warm interior. "It's nothing a small round of binge-drinking can't cure. Come on, I'll buy you a beer and let you vent about Dad living in the barn," I told him. He smiled widely, either because he could vent or because I was buying I wasn't exactly sure, before grabbing my arm and dragging me into the bar I was eyeing, sitting us down at the bar and getting us started on a couple hours of drinking. While the golden rule my Dad taught us stood at the forefront of my mind, I ignored it, choosing instead to let the alcohol rule my mind for a few hours before going home for the night. The only issue that remained was which house I was going back to for the night, but that question disappeared as soon as the first mug of frothy beer hit my lips and the second the cheap taste touched my tongue. It was going to be a while before this stuff got me buzzed.

_DRRR!_

I blinked slowly, eyes straining in the darkness as I looked blankly at the TV, its screen showing some late night drama rerun. I turned my eyes slowly away from the bright screen to look around my surroundings, finding, with no surprise, that I was inside Shizuo's apartment. I turned back to the TV, watching it for a moment with dull understanding and slight recognition.

My mouth felt dry and as I licked my lips I found them to be dry as well—the price of drinking cheap beer I guess—and found with delight a glass of water sitting on the coffee table in front of me. Prying myself from the wall and hesitating a bit as a small headache started and, for some reason, a sharp sting on my ass, I grabbed the water, downing half the glass before allowing myself a breath. I set the glass down and slowly stood up, stumbling when a sudden dizziness hit me and catching myself against the table, noticing for the first time a piece of paper with an explanation on it. I squinted in the low light, trying to read its contents before giving up and straightening out of my bent over position to go turn on a light, instantly knowing I would regret it.

"Shizuo? You back yet?" I called out quietly, opening the bedroom door and finding in the near darkness a bed whose occupant was much too small to be the man I was looking for. "Time?" I asked aloud, closing the door and zeroing in on the blinking light on the microwave, finding that barely two hours had passed since my—now bad—decision to binge drink my troubles away. "Light, light," I mumbled, grouping the wall by the door for a few minutes until they flicked on, the sudden brightness causing me to curse repeatedly as I shielded my eyes and carefully walked back to the coffee table, stooping down—and feeling again a sharp pain on my ass—to grab the note, reading it's words quietly to myself:

"Dear Amai, next time you decide to get wasted, make sure it's with someone who won't let you do stupid stuff. If you haven't found out yet, I'll tell you now. You got a tattoo, that's right, you are now two-for-two in stupid decisions for tattoo designs, but I won't judge. Anyway, since you seemed adamant to stay over at the blonde's, I'm leaving you here and going back to the gay club for Setsuko. Don't do anything stupid. Signed, Carney. P.S. I pinned an "if lost" note to you in case you leave the apartment. See you tomorrow."

'_At least he has the decency to leave me a note,'_ I thought, my nose scrunching up at the thought that I now, officially, had a tattoo on my ass. I could only hope that it wasn't a stupid design, but for now I wouldn't worry about it, I'd focus instead on the fact that it hurt like a son of a bitch. Dropping the note and leaving it to flutter harmlessly to the ground, I picked up the half empty glass of water and went to the refrigerator, pulling open the door to the freezer and taking out a tray of ice and breaking it against the small counter, grabbing a small, unused rag and wrapping the ice in it. After that I turned on the tap, refilling my glass, turned off the light, and took the ice bundle and my water back to the area I woke up in.

"Wonder where Shizuo is," I asked myself quietly, removing my vest and inching my pants down to my thighs, sitting down against the wall carefully and setting the chill make-shift bag against my butt as I settled myself in to watch the drama for a couple hours, or until my butt stopped hurting and my head stopped pounding a deep, slow beat.

It wasn't long until both pains eventually dulled—but since I wasn't paying attention the time it could have been an hour for all I knew, and by then I was half asleep and ready to drift off until I heard a pair of heavy footsteps approach the front door, the click and turn of the deadbolt causing me to wake up a bit more, waiting like an eager—yet sleepy—puppy for Shizuo to walk through the door. When he finally did he had a smile on his face, which quickly dropped a bit when he found me sitting near the corner of his living room, a wet bag of ice held against my butt and an empty glass in my hand.

"What happened to you?" he asked me, closing the door behind him and turning on the light, making me wince once again at the sudden brightness that brought most of my headache back. When I found the courage to open my eyes, I found myself asking him the same when I found his beloved bartending suit torn all to hell and his face marred by thin scratches.

He looked down at himself, as if he had just noticed this and replied with a curt response. "Something great." I nodded, wondering if I should push the subject of let it fizzle and die for the time being. I chose the latter, more interested in sleeping off my hangover for the time being. "Hangover?" he guessed, walking towards the table and picking up the note I had left there, reading it to himself before glancing down at the wet bundle I held against my butt, most of my ass and panties wet because of the melting ice. "Another tattoo? What's this one of?" he asked me, the tips of his ears growing pink as he turned his eyes away from my butt, trying not to stare at the other part that were left exposed.

I shrugged nonchalantly, looking up at him with soft, tired eyes. "Not sure, I'll see what it is in the morning and decide if I want it removed or not," I told him, setting the glass down beside and laying my hand in my lap, folding my legs in half in a somewhat defensive position. "So…so did something…did anything particular happen tonight? You got back pretty late, so I was just wondering…" I said, hesitating several times as I struggled through the parts of my brain that were still a bit inebriated.

He stood still for a moment, smiling a bit more before at some hidden memory before dropping to his knees in front of me, his arms encircling me and pulling me against him, my knees touching the floor as I was pulled out of my folded position. I was momentarily stunned, not sure what to do beyond letting him bury his face against my neck and hair and taking pleasure from the warm breath that touched my bare skin.

"Tell me you love me." His voice was muffled and hard to hear against my neck and I had to ask him what he said, just to make sure that I heard him correctly.

"What?"

"I've heard it a lot tonight, so I want to hear it from someone who matters," he said, explaining his reason behind why he wanted me to say it. "Tell me you love me," he repeated, detaching himself from my neck and unwrapping his arms from my back to hold my head between his hands, his face no more than a couple inches from mine as his brown eyes watched my lips, watched them intently as I opened my mouth once and twice, biting my lip as I tried to figure out what to say, how to say it, and if I should at this particular moment.

Wasn't it just a few hours ago that that strange woman had told me that he had accepted their love? If that was true, then should I say it? Would he just simply accept it like he did theirs?

No. Shizuo wasn't like that, and like he said, he had heard it a lot tonight, and those people didn't mean anything. He wanted to hear it from me. Someone that _matters._

"…Tá mé i ngrá leat," I whispered, speaking in my second language—the result of my nerves wearing down at me at such an important moment, because although I did love him, I had never told him so. And now that I thought about it, I had never said aloud to any of the men I had been with that I loved them, the result being that Shizuo was special.

"What?" he asked me, confusion lacing his voice and features as his eyes flicked up to mine.

"Tá mé i ngrá leat," I said again, louder and more sure of myself than before. The confusion stayed clear on his face, and I smiled to myself, holding back a laugh at the adorkable expression. "Tá mé i ngrá leat, Shizuo," I said again, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his in a quick kiss that turned into a deep, passionate one once he finally what I was saying, his fingers twisting into my hair as he held me against him for a few more seconds before releasing me.

I opened my eyes a bit, seeing his own heavy-lidded, his cheeks flushed a pale pink with slight red lines crossing them—the result of a dozen or so knives I'm assuming—and his lips slightly parted. I could only imagine what I looked like. "I love you too, Amai."

"Tá mé i ngrá leat, Shizuo."

"_I'm in love with you, Shizuo."_


	55. Chapter 55: A Liar and A Hypocrite

**Just a friendly reminder that reviews, while optional, are always appreciated—especially constructive criticism. That's all for now, carry on~ read the chapter~ leave a review~**

"So did you do it?" Taka-chan asked me excitedly, practically salivating at the prospect of a juicy story as he sat, jittering, in his seat at the table closest to me as I told him what had happened after I left the club—omitting it so much that the most I could tell him is everything that happened after the strange woman steered me away from the alley—while I waited for customers to come in.

When he first came in the bakery and asked me what happened, I was skeptical and wary, not to mention a little confused since usually he was sleeping this early in the morning. The confusion went away quickly after he explained that sleeping any longer than usual would be impossible because of my brother's snoring, and added a quick awe filled comment about Setsuko's ability to sleep through it. He'd probably fall asleep at his seat eventually but since there was a coffee shop across the street it didn't seem likely and in the foreseeable future.

"What? No, of course not. Weren't you listening at all?" I asked him, gently bouncing my baby nephew, Gavin, against my hip. Fortunately and unfortunately it was my weekend to babysit the three-month-old little bundle of joy. I say this because although I loved him very much, it was hard to talk relationships with a baby around—which was probably the reason Kichiro dumped him on me so he and Misako could "hang out". The lucky bastard.

"Of course I was listening, that's why it's only natural for the story to lead into you two "wrestling between the sheets"," he said, scoffing leaning his head against his hand and glaring at me through slightly narrowed eyes.

"What can I say, the moment wasn't right—" This was possibly the worst thing I could have said to him, and the way Taka-chan reacted emphasized that fact very much.

"The moment wasn't _RIGHT?!_" he shouted, his feminine voice breaking apart and showing his real, slightly feminine male voice. Beside me Gavin gave a small dribble sound—a sort of whine mixed with saliva—and his large, dark green eyes beginning to well up in equally large tears. I shot a glare at Taka-chan as I bounced Gavin up and down, trying to quell him before he burst into a loud crying, sobbing mess.

"Have you lost your mind?! Which part of your little story deemed sex impossible last night?!" he continued, his voice hushed but still pressured as I got Gavin to quiet down before walking over to his car seat on top of the table Taka-chan was occupying. Carefully, I laid him down, cradling his head until it lay comfortably against the cushioning and continuing to amuse him while I waited for customers to come in. Really I was entertaining myself since I was just playing with his small, sock-covered feet.

"Let's keep in mind that I had a grand total of three hours of sleep and that this," I said, holding up my empty coffee cup and rattling the straw against the rim, "is my fifth cup of coffee in the last three hours since my shift started."

"Amai, I'm saying this because I love you, and I care about you, and your sex life is great material to dish out at work when you go home," Taka-chan started, getting that "sweet" feminine edge back in his voice, "you're an idiot and you need sleep in order to make smart relationship choices."

"What?! No I don't. And no I am not! I _don't_ feel tired and I stand by what I said: the moment wasn't right," I rebutted, slamming the empty cup into the trash can behind me and glaring at him in "subtle" hatred.

"Amai, you both confessed to loving each other, your pants were already out of the way and you had a great excuse to show him your butt. So tell me where in _any_ of that was it not okay to have sex with him," Taka-chan relayed, straight-faced and serious as I realized the implications of my hangover/self-pity.

"…Oh nonononononono NO! What did I do?!" I yelled, dropping my head to the table and banging on it repeatedly with my fist. Gavin's feet touched my hair, kicking it roughly as he giggled at my distressed reaction and copied my movements, switching out hands for legs and attitude for attitude.

"More so it's what you didn't do," Taka-chan chimed in, chuckling at my misfortune, most likely taking delight that wither way he would be bringing something for the "girls" at work to gossip over.

"Sweet euphoria, how you elude me~" I wept, taking no notice of the bell above the door as a customer entered and looked over the varying selections of bread in their baskets, selecting a particularly tasty looking melon bread.

"Hey bakery girl, what are you doing?" the customer—a man—asked me, taking my attention away from the grain in the table to the suited man in front of the cash register, his melon bread in hand and a curious look on his face.

"Cowering under the weight of my own stupidity," I answered him, straightening out of my bent position and pinching my earlobe, easily letting go of my continued self-pity as it was replaced by a sugary-sweet smile, "But! My private like does not mix into my work life unless people from my private life show up at my work, but I won't bother you with details, good sir!" Quickly I got back to my station and rang up the price, taking small peeks out of the corner of my eye as I monitored Gavin to make sure he was still happy. "That'll be four hundred and fifty yen," I told the man, earning a shocked and disbelieving expression.

"That much for a piece of bread?!" he asked incredulously, holding the bread up as if needing to confirm that that was indeed the bread in question.

"Sir, if you don't like it you're free to do one of two things, you can either buy the damn bread and complain to your wife, your girlfriend or anyone who gives a damn, or you can go buy cheaper bread somewhere else," I told him, smiling sweetly in a way that completely clashed with my harsh words. After years of manipulation on my neurological chemistry, the technique I had learned proceeded to do little on my mouth, altering only my face and my state of thought.

Although the real reason may have been because of instinct to piss off and annoy.

"Fine! I'll go somewhere else then!" the man said, slamming the bread down on the glass cabinet in front of me and turning to leave, barely making it halfway across the room before I spoke up again.

"Are you sure? Are you certain you'll find melon bread as subtly sweet as ours, with a crispy outer layer and the fluffiest inner texture that nearly melts in your mouth somewhere else? Because if you are a _hundred_ percent certain that you can, then you're free to go and find that place," I said, letting my talent in manipulation control my mind and mouth, my technique wearing off earlier than usual in the interest of making a sale. "I just hope you're not met with disappointment along the way," I sighed wistfully, leaning against my elbow as I placed my head in my hand, watching him as he turned back towards me, a conflicted expression on his face.

"…You happy with yourself? Manipulating people to get what you want?" he asked me, stomping back over the counter and whipping out his wallet, throwing a five hundred yen coin down on the counter before scooping up his bread and turning back towards the door. "Quality establishment you have here! Real great manipulator!" he shouted towards the kitchen, unknowing that Miss Yuumi was gone for the day on one of her rare vacation days, yanking the door open and storming outside.

"_Hey!_ If I was half the manipulator I think I am I'd have slept with my boyfriend a long time ago pal!" I yelled at his back when the door slammed shut and he went stalking down the street, the loud noises causing Gavin to kick up a fuss and start crying.

"…Does your bread really cost that much?" Taka-chan asked, raising his voice above the baby's wails as I left the coin where it lay in order to tend to the poor babe.

"Law of supply and demand: since I'm not that great at baking bread there is a short supply today meaning the cost goes up," I told him plain and simple, picking Gavin up and holding him close, bouncing him up and down gently but only succeeding in making him cry louder. "There there, come on sweetheart~ settle down~" I cooed, stroking his back gently.

"Does your boss know?" Taka-chan asked me, looking me over with an expression I didn't quite understand, something like confusion mixed with sudden realization and something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Of course not," I scoffed, like he should have known better than to ask, "if she knew she'd hit my head with a rolled up newspaper like a dog. All Miss Yuumi needs to know is that it was a good business day," I told him honestly, smiling when Gavin's cries quieted down to a small whimper. "Now shut up and tell me how to seduce my boyfriend!" I said loudly, taking him by surprise.

"What?! What makes you think I know how?" he asked me, looking confused and taken aback.

"You've been working at that bar for at least ten years and over the last six or so months I've been working with you I've seen you flirt with nearly thirty guys a night," I told him, setting Gavin down once again in his car seat-turned-crib before turning to him with a determined expression, crossing my arms across my chest and telling him seriously, "if I'm not a mistaken, you sir are a tease, and if I know anything it's that teases know how to seduce people. So help me seduce my boyfriend already!"

He sat silently for a while, looking at me with something close to astonishment before it melted into some sort of passive-domineering "I know something you don't" expression. "…Fine, I'll help you seduce him, but only if you do everything I say and let me tell the guys at work."

I gritted my teeth before offering him a counter-offer. "I'll let you gossip to Naoki-kun and who he tells is fair game. Now do we have a deal or not?"

"Deal!" he said excitedly, his painted lips breaking into a large grin as he began his lesson. "Now here's where you're going wrong, with someone like Heiwajima-kun, you can't be aggressive. Now, fortunately there's a simple solution: playing passive yet flirty," he said, his index finger pointed at me like a silent command to take to heart his advice, "unfortunately I can't help you in that area." His words—which had elated me at the prospect of his idea actually working, instantly deflated me like a popped balloon.

"What?! Why not? You're the definition of flirty!" I fumed, throwing my arms down at my side; hands curled into fists while the weight from my cast pulling my arm down especially hard.

"Yes, but not when it comes to sex. Naoki-kun and Heiwajima-kun are both the same and different. They're both shy when it comes to the act, but Naoki is far more submissive—which is why you will _never_ see _this_ face pushed into a pillow," he explained to me, circling his face with a well manicured finger as a simple gesture to his beauty.

"That's not the only reason," I muttered lowly, trying not to voice my reason for not wanting to see Taka-chan and Naoki-san alone in bed together.

If he heard me he didn't show it, instead he continued on with his instructions. "Now, since he's so far averted your advances and has an alarming amount of self-control given your previous stories, this is where I won't be able to help you," he said, once again deflating me with zero help and inflating me with mild annoyance.

"You realize of course that if you don't help me, I'm not letting you gossip," I replied, putting my good hand on my hip as I looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Hang on, I wasn't finished! Now, even if I can't help you through personal experience, I know a certain person who can. Just keep in mind that you promised to do exactly as I say." If he knew someone who could help me, why didn't he say so sooner?

"Yeah yeah, just tell me tell me who it is," I said impatiently, wanting him to get to the point faster than this snail's pace.

"No," I quirked an eyebrow, questioning why he was refuting my curiosity, "You need to promise me that you won't back out now, and you'll do as this person says. Promise?" he asked me, suddenly wary.

"…Tell me the name first," I asked, equally wary if he was trying to make me promise something before I could refuse.

"No, you have to promise," he persisted.

"I will, just tell me who it is."

"_Promise._"

"_Give me the damn name you tease!_" I hissed, keeping my voice harsh yet quiet in the interest of letting Gavin sleep a while longer.

"It's Monowa-san," he finally replied, watchful eyes on me as he gauged my reaction to hearing her name. Personally I was proud of my reaction since it was nicer than anything else that might have come out of my mouth at the simple prospect of going to her for help.

"No way in hell am I going to _her_ for help."

He looked at me exasperated, like he was tired of the same old song and dance. "Amai, just hear me out. Look, I know she isn't exactly your favorite person, and I know you don't like her job—"

"Hey! I couldn't care less that she's a hooker, what matters is that she had sex in her apartment, on the other side of my freaking wall where my freaking bedroom was, and where my ears were present to every single little sound that leaked through every day! No! I refuse to go to her for help!" I ranted, unwilling and frankly too prideful.

"Don't exaggerate, she didn't do it every day," Taka-chan said, rolling his eyes away at me as he reached for his purse and began digging around in it.

"That's not the only reason I won't go to her for help, Taka-chan. she _hates_ me. I once gave her tainted cookies by accident and she thought I was trying to kill her," I told him, watching him as his eyes lighted upon finding the object of his desire—his cell phone.

"Well then, we'll take this opportunity for you to apologize to her," he said as he flipped it open with his thumb, scrolling through names until he came across the one he wanted and began dialing the number listed. Holding the device up to his ear, he watched, bemused as I fumed, angry that he was ignoring me.

"Monowa-san~ I hope I'm not interrupting anything~" he said, greeting her through the phone with an obnoxiously friendly voice. I couldn't hear her reply, but from the look on Taka-chan's face I could tell that he hadn't. "Good good. Listen, I'm with Amai-chan over at her bakery job and we were talking about relationships—" he stopped short, listening and laughing as Kimi said something that was apparently funny.

"Haha, I know I know, she's gotten more feminine since she started dating," he laughed, the joke from Kimi obviously being one at my expense. "Anyway, one thing led to another and we somehow got on the topic of how to get _him_ to want _you_ and since you seem to have a bit of expertise in this area, I was wondering if you could give us some advice?" He paused again, listening to her response and laughing a bit—albeit nervously—before turning his attention to me.

"Good news, she's willing to help you," he told me with a stressed smile.

"Great…what's the bad news?" I asked.

"She said she wants to hear you beg first," he answered, biting his lip nervously as he watched my reaction. My reaction being, of course, intense loathing. But I digress, debating briefly in my mind the pros and cons and ultimately deciding that begging would be the lesser of two evils. I sighed, grinding my teeth as I held my hand out for the phone and hesitating when it was placed carefully in my hand, convincing myself that this was necessary, if not a bit conceited.

"Monowa-san," I began in greeting, staring hard at nothing as I listened to her response.

"_Tachibana-san."_

"…Please tell me…how to passively flirt," I choked out, stumbling a bit on my words as they passed my lips.

"_Passive flirting…dear me, are aggressive attacks not working on lover boy?"_ she drawled, irking me with the truth.

"Let's just say that I'd be lying if I said no. Now can you please tell me how to passively flirt and what the hell that means?"

"_Come on Bakery Girl, you're not _that_ stupid. It means what it says. In other words you do stupid little things while looking like you don't care what happens next. Sex? Alright, let's do that. In-bed cuddling? Sure, no problem,"_ she explained, monotonous and bored sounding.

"Seriously? Be affectionate but don't expect high results? And this will seriously help me?" I asked her, trying to confirm that this seemingly easy way was fool-proof.

"_They do say it's the little things that matter,"_ she said, before adding, _"Although I don't think this particular tactic will work for you."_

I was confused, what did she mean by that? Then again, the few times I had consciously tried to flirt with someone either blew up in my face or got me made fun of. But just to be sure I asked her what she meant anyway, unknowing that she had seen my attempt earlier in the year.

"_That little stunt you pulled with Mitsukanei-san. Very enlightening and educational as to your dating history. Tell me, are you a virgin? Or are you just unskilled?"_ she asked, irking me once again. I bit my tongue, unwilling to sabotage myself in my endeavor just because of a little comment.

"I'll admit it wasn't my finest flirty moment, but I achieved my own ends," I spat, remembering with delight the finale of the evening when Chikan-san broke my door with his pervy face. "And anyway, I've gotten a lot better at seduction since then, so all I need are a few pointers on being passive," I said, somewhat proud of my own development since that sham of a flirtation. It just goes to show that despite sounding like a crow, Chikan-san was too horny for his own good.

"_Yes, I heard about your little moment at the hospital a few months ago from Takazawa-san. Didn't know you had it in you."_

I am so going to kill Taka-chan.

"Anyway, as you have probably heard," I glared at Taka-chan out of the corner of my eye, but he conveniently looked away acting innocent, "I need some help."

"_Mmn~ the best I can tell you is to do the little things and you'll get there eventually. I haven't been in a serious relationship in years, so I can't tell you much beyond that,"_ was her response to my inquiry, which ended up raising more question than it should have.

Disappointed, I pushed a little more, curious as to why she couldn't give me more detailed hints. "I would have thought, given your profession, that you would have had more expertise on enticing men."

"_Not all men are complex like yours, Tachibana-san. Some are remarkably easy to lure in."_

"Nn, well, thanks for the advice anyway."

"_Hold on, I didn't do this out of the goodness of my heart and because you begged me. I want something from that little bakery of yours, something that wont threaten to kill me this time,"_ she said, stopping me short from hanging up on her.

"Umm…alright. I'll see you around then," I said hesitantly, listening for the tone dial as she hung up without a word of farewell or anything. I snapped the phone shut, handing it back to a befuddled Taka-chan as he waited for me to say something. "I think I'll bring her a coffeecake," was my brilliant response to his silent curiosity. His brow rose higher, if that was even possible, at my strange sentence, before it lowered again as he came to a rational conclusion.

"She gave you some good advice then?" he asked, looking away to my nephew as he made a face and sneezed in his sleep, scratching his nose the tip of his fingernail, amused.

"Not really, she just gave me a better definition of what to do. But she did say to ask someone for help," I told him.

"So we're back to square one then," he said deadpan.

"Not really, I just remembered someone I can talk to," I said, walking back over to the cash register as another person came in, leaving soon after with some of our wares.

"So are you going to call them right now then?" Taka-chan asked excitedly, maybe too excited for his own good.

"No, I think I'm going to punish you for leaking my private life all over the place," I said irately, making him huff in disappointment. "Anyway, not to be rude, but shouldn't you go home now? Catch up on your sleep or whatever?"

"Not when your brother and his sleep apnea are there to destroy any chance of that," he replied bitterly, which was understandable since, if you weren't a heavy sleeper, it was utterly impossible to sleep through.

"It's eleven in the morning, he should be awake by now." Well, he should be. Possibly. Maybe. Well, he never slept for more than eight hours anyway. Course that could have changed since he finished school back in spring.

_DRRR!_

"Kichiro, I'm telling you I can't anymore," I said, juggling both my phone and my fidgeting nephew as watched the clock on the wall closely. "No, he's not much trouble at all; I just have an appointment I need to make," I told him, bouncing up at down on the balls of my feet as I tried to keep Gavin occupied while simultaneously resisting going to the bathroom. Lucky me Kyoko had decided that since I "thought it was easy" to take care of a baby, she had refused to offer any assistance. To my knowledge I hadn't once said it was easy in the odd some months she'd been here, but I guess my giving her constant advice based on the various times I had babysat my cousins and nephews counted as such.

"Of course I have to make the appointment! I'm finally getting this frickin' cast off, Kichiro. You know how much I _hate_ this thing!" I shouted into the phone, momentarily allowing Gavin to reach my shoulder before I grasped the back of his onesie between my fingers and pulled him back down, his muted wails against my shoulder actually causing my pain.

"Stop sticking it to your girlfriend you pansy or I'll make you even less of a man than she ever will!" I yelled, snapping the phone shut with unnecessary force and making the baby cry louder than before. Sighing, I set the phone down on the glass counter and patted his back, setting a more smooth rock and bounce motion as I worked to still his cries.

'_He smells fine, so he doesn't need to be changed. Maybe he needs another bottle? But how much breast milk did Misako-chan send along?'_ I asked myself, trying to remember the contents of the diaper bag Misako had left after stubbornly clinging to her child and saying over and over again that she wasn't leaving him. Vacantly I wondered if I would ever be like that when I had a child and be so tightly attached that not even Shizuo could pull us apart.

It was almost funny how I thought of Shizuo at that moment, because when my eyes roamed over to the window to see if Kichiro had arrived yet—not that the drive from wherever the hell he was would take less than two minutes—Shizuo happened to be there, hands in his pockets and back ramrod straight, a cigarette hanging from his lips as he looked inside. Expression wise I couldn't tell since his face did tend to be calm some of the time when he was super pissed, but his sunglasses weren't helping either way. Tom, who had walked a few feet forward, stopped when he noticed his friend and co-worker had stalled in his tracks and walked back over to him, cupping his hands around his eyes—which seemed a bit redundant considering he was wearing sunglasses as well—and peering through the window at me.

However, by the time Tom stopped and turned around, I had already ducked behind the counter, Gavin pressed tightly against me as I crouched, silently kicking myself for my stupidity. But how could I not? I couldn't deal with him just yet.

"You do know that that case is made of glass, right? He can see you," said Kyoko's voice from above me, letting me know of my obvious mistake.

"I know," I said indignantly, although I made no move to stand up. "Can you tell me when he leaves?" I asked her, burying my face closer to Gavin's.

"Yeah sure," she agreed reluctantly, tapping her foot slowly, methodically against the floor. "So why are you down there on the floor?" she asked after a few seconds, giving me no sign, verbal or not, that Shizuo and Tom had continued on their way and had written my actions off as something strange and not to be looked into.

Although the latter was less likely since I'm sure he'll ask me at some point later on.

Raising my head I looked out through the glass, confirming for myself whether or not he was still there. I sighed, finding with relief that they had gone back to their daily business. "Sorry, I thought I dropped his binky, but it turned out to be my dignity," I replied sullenly, standing up carefully so I didn't jostle him too much.

"Yeah, I think I still see it on the floor. So why are you hiding from the blond? From what I heard you two seemed pretty lovey-dovey last night," Kyoko remarked. What the hell, was she eavesdropping on my conversation with Taka-chan?

"Were you on the other side of the door before?"

"I was somewhere; let's just put it at that. So you lied to the transvestite then?"

"I said some words, that's all I'll say," I replied hastily as the bell over the door rang and my brother's disheveled figure appeared in the doorway next to an equally disheveled Misako-chan. The look on my brother's face being one of pouty indifference while Misako's was simply overjoyed. Obviously, the minute I called was the very second Misako had put her pants back on and dragged Kichiro with her. And obviously Kichiro wouldn't be going to me to babysit for awhile if the murderous glare he was giving me was anything to go by.

_DRRR!_

A couple years ago, no less than half a year after I started working at the bakery, I met a boy. Well, maybe boy's not the right word; I met a middle-schooler. And he seemed…like a player. His hair was a dirty blonde—by no means was it natural—and he wore a lot of…yellow. Of course at that time I didn't know much about gangs beyond the blue one that wanted my head on a pike, so this yellow one was new to me either way. But at that time I didn't know anything about anything, so when this teenager started hitting on me I didn't think anything of the color he was wearing and simply grabbed his collar and threatened his ass.

The look on the kid's face darkened a bit, and the big guys behind him mimicked his changed attitude and practically wrenched my arm the wrong way while removing my hand from their leader's collar. My memory of what happened after was hazy at best, but I remember having a bloody nose and my regular disposition of being pissed off getting the better of me as it usually did, my hands once again knotted in the kid's yellow jacket as I held him up above me.

I was pissed beyond reason, his thugs looking battered and bruised, and this kid, this stupid kid just smiled. Smiled like a regular, goofy kid, and laughing like one, too. After that he called a truce, even though I clearly had them on the fence if I do say so myself, and ended up coming by the bakery every week, just to see me and goof off. The first day I met him was also the last day I saw him make that kind of expression—dark, flippant, uncaring about anyone that dared to mess with him. Not even when he went off the grid for a few weeks after the disappearance of the blue squares did I see him make that kind face, but beneath the smile he showed me when he finally came to visit me I could tell he was hiding something.

And now today I see it again, his eyes as dark as his expression, and so deep in thought that for a moment I nearly took him for someone else when I was looking right at him.

Masaomi, what did this town do this time?

"Masaomi, I'm hurt. I haven't seen you in weeks and this is the type of face you give me?" I asked playfully, fluttering my fingers in his face to try and get him to snap out of it. He blinked a couple times, reorganization filling his eyes before they darkened once again.

"Oh, hey Amai, what are you doing here?" he asked me sticking his hands inside his pockets as he leaned back against the wall of the corridor he had walked down.

"It's a hospital, Masaomi. And this is a cast that I am sorely tempted to rip off with my teeth," I replied curtly, holding my arm up as evidence. "Now what about you? I don't see why a healthy kid like yourself is here," I asked, looking past him down the hall, wondering which room he came out of or if he was on a different floor. He stayed silent and lowered his eyes, not answering my question but giving me information nonetheless.

"Mikado?" I asked him, but he didn't respond. "Sonohara-san?"

His eyes flickered to mine and instantly I felt a pit in my stomach. I hadn't known her for that long, and the only thing I had done for her was simultaneously in my own interest of causing pain to a pervert, but I couldn't help but feel concerned about her. "Is she okay? What happened?" I asked him, eyebrows knitting together as I waited for him to speak.

"That slasher bastard…" was all he said through gritted teeth.

'_Huh, I wonder if that one was working under their "mother's" direction,'_ I thought to myself, unable to recall if the woman sent to slash me had confirmed that I was their only other target. Maybe this happened a different night? "Did this happen last night?"

"_Of course it happened last night!_" he snapped, balling his fists in front of him while a crease appeared on his forehead, the result of his brows furrowing together in anger—almost like how Shizuo's are most of the time. "That bastard…he hurt Anri! And now, he's going to pay," he said darkly, giving me an even greater glimpse of his past self.

My brow rose in question and doubt. He was going to pay? How could he possibly locate the one that attacked Anri when there was probably tens of tens of them in a city this size? To put it frankly, it was impossible.

"Don't be an idiot, Masaomi. Revenge doesn't solve anything," says the hypocrite that put her second-year teacher in a self-induced coma after dealing out punishment like a stack of playing cards. "And besides, you're not thinking clearly."

"I am thinking clearly, Amai. And I've already made my decision," he said, deadly serious and so full of shit. How much did I want to bet that I wasn't going to like this decision of his? Then again, when it came out of the mouth of Masaomi I didn't like half the things he said, especially the things that involved "picking me up".

"And what decision would that be?" I asked him quietly, fearing the worst.

"I'm going back."

A loud slap rang through the air as my hand connected with his face, making his head snap to the side and his eyes widen a bit before they narrowed back into their former glare.

"What was that for?" he asked me, as cool as a cucumber and about as cold as his glower.

"Be lucky I only slapped you when you told me to hit you," I replied coolly, my frown deepening as I recalled the only time made me wait, when he quit the Yellow Scarves and made me promise to bit him if he ever joined again. Actually, if I remember correctly it was right around the time the Blue Squares disappeared. It's probably a coincidence. "But if you really want me to hit you, I can do that," I volunteered, holding up my fist as proof of my willingness.

"I don't need your approval, Amai. Just let me take care of it," Masaomi told me, pushing off the wall and shoving his way past me to the exit.

"The last guy to tell me he would "take care of it" is in a coma, so I suggest rewording what you just said," I growled, thoroughly fed up with his currently uncharacteristic attitude. He stopped, turning back to me with a somewhat determined expression.

"I can't. Please don't tell Mikado and Anri about this."

"Fine, I won't. But forgive me if I choose to stay out of gang business, just like every other time in my life," I replied curtly, allowing him to turn back around and leave the hospital. I walked back to the front desk where I had first spotted Masaomi and asked the nurse stationed there which room Anri was staying in. It didn't take as much coercing as I originally thought—what with me not being family and knowing her only as a friend of a friend, id have thought it take a bit more convincing, or lying, to get her room number—and in no time at all I was standing outside her room, wondering what I was doing, what I was going to say, and why I was putting off getting this damn cast off.

'_In retrospect it's probably cheaper if I just go to Shinra. But what kind of tool do they use to get this off? I swear, if Shinra chops my arm off, I'll beat him with it!'_ I shouted in my mind before jumping in surprise when the door slid open and Mikado's timid face appeared.

"A-Amai-san! What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised. Behind him I saw Anri sitting up in bed, hands neatly folded in her lap with an equally surprised look on her face.

"Wondering if it would be cheaper getting this thing off my arm myseAs to what I'm doing in front of the door, I'm here to say hi to Sonohara-san and wish her well," I explained. _'As well as interrogate her about her incident last night.'_

"Oh, well, I was just leaving, so I'll leave you two alone. I mean, because I'm leaving now, to go home—" he rambled until a pat on the head silenced him and he looked at me with wide blue eyes.

"See ya later, Mikado," I smiled, inwardly wondering if I should tell him about Masaomi anyway despite his plea not to. He nodded his goodbye and left soon after, leaving the door wide open for me to enter.

"So," I started jovially, taking a step inside and sliding the door closed, leaning back casually as I appraised her injuries, "you were attacked by the slasher last night." My tone was conversational, my inquisition was not.

"Yes."

"That's an odd thing; there must be more than one then."

"They did say in the paper that there were multiple attacks last night," she agreed, her hands tightening a bit.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," I agreed, wondering where to go from here. "Can you remember what they looked like?"

"N-not really," she stammered, letting me know more than she thought by saying those two simple words.

"Really? Here, let me help you out," I volunteered, walking further into the room and sitting down at the chair provided by her bed. "Red eyes? Eerie grins? Unconventional kitchen knife or switchblade or, if I remember correctly, a hunting knife? In case you haven't figured it out by now, I had my own experience last night, granted the severity of it was more an injury on the mind then on the body."

"How many of them went after you?" she asked, her genuine concern directed at me instead of the other way around—after all, _she_ was the one in the hospital bed. I'm just the moron that couldn't manipulate a situation my way.

"Just five, I think the leader said I was a threat to their love affair or something like that," I answered her before her next question opened up a whole new can of worms.

"But the leader was with me, how could she have attacked you?" she asked me, earning my confusion at what she meant.

"There was a leader of the group that attacked me, but I wasn't talking about the head bitch. Why did their "mother" attack you?" I asked her, narrowing my eyes as I caught onto a lie.

"I—I don't know. Maybe she just wanted to?" she asked, looking away from me towards a vacant corner of the room, her hands grasping the bed cover tightly.

"Sonohara-san, my Mother was a mafia kingpin. She never once got involved directly in a fight because she was a self-described general. Leaders don't attack personally, they send their pawns. So tell me why the "mother", or whatever she calls herself, attacked you personally," I told her, calling BS on her act of innocence and ignorance. If there was one thing I knew it was how the leaders acted, and if the leader attacked her personally, then the "mother" had a bone to pick with the poor girl.

"…I was a threat to her love affair, too," she answered quietly, her wavering voice strengthening a bit compared to five minutes ago.

"You're not one of them, are you? A child of Saika?" I asked, not really interested in the love affair side events. I was only concerned if the friend of my friend was right as rain and not a pawn. That is, before I got blindsided by what she said next.

"No, it's impossible for me to be possessed by Saika," she started, holding up her arm and bending it so her forearm pointed towards the ceiling. For a moment I wondered what she was doing, and then I saw it. Her eyes turned redder than what they already were, and from her wrist a red abrasion appeared, followed closely by the sharp, gleaming edge of a katana blade. It rose from her wrist towards the ceiling—a literal extension of her arm—until it stopped its slow progression, half the blade still hidden away inside her arm. "Because I'm Saika," she finished, but I was only half paying attention as I stared at it. It was deadly, but it was also a beautiful.

"Where did you get that?" I asked her, curious to how she got acquired a cursed blade.

"It's a long story," she murmured, her voice heavy and bringing me back.

"Oh, forget it then, I can't listen to long stories," I told her truthfully, not wanting to push her.

"Can you please don't tell them?" she asked me quietly, the blade sinking back into her flesh, disappearing without a trace, like a plate of brownies in a room full of toddlers.

"Sonohara-san, if there's one thing I don't do, it's out people."

"Thanks," she smiled, small and genuine before asking me a question that took me by surprise. "Are you okay? You seem a little…" she trailed off, unsure how to word my underlying state of mind. My state of mind being anguish and anger at my inner teen

"I'm fine," I told her.

'_Despite the fact that the one time Shizuo actually initiates anything remotely sexual that may have led to bigger and better things, I have a flashback at the most inconvenient of times.'_

"Yeah, I'm just fine."


	56. Chapter 56:Change of Plan

**I humbly give my sincerest apologies for my lack of update and small case of writers' block and offer you—my much loved readers—a brand new chapter with my sincerest hope that you will leave a review at the bottom with what you think. On a separate note: happy Wednesday! Okay, random moment over and thanks to anyone who didn't skip over my apology. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! It has a lime~ well, my attempt at one anyway. Wouldn't mind at all if you guys commented on it so I can know how I did.**

_His mouth, hot and fervent, pressed against mine. His hand on the back of my skull, fingers weaving into my hair and knocking my hat from its perch onto the ground beside us as he brought me even closer—like that was possible. His other hand wrapped around my waist, his palm pressing against the small of my back, tightening into a fist around my shirt as our bodies pressed flush against each other. Reciprocating his hold, I wrapped my arms around his neck, running my own fingers through his dyed blond hair and enjoying the feel of his body against mine. _

_It wasn't like we hadn't had moments like these before, when it was all heat, and passion, and the need to feel close to the other. But this had the subtle difference of knowing that we loved each other outright, not just the feeling that we did—seeing as we had never verbally said it. Did this one moment feel different than the other ones? I wasn't sure, but it certainly felt warmer…and a lot wetter. Especially when his tongue swiped my bottom lip before he nipped it—although his nip was more of a bite, but I didn't pay it much mind beyond the gasp that slipped through my lips._

_Pretty soon his hand let go of the back of my shirt, sliding from my back to my waist while his other hand disentangled itself from my hair and did the same. In the back of my mind I remembered that my pants were already halfway down my legs, and the thought of what might transpire ran through my mind for a brief moment before I tossed it aside, not wanting to jinx myself as I felt Shizuo's hands slide from my waist down my hips, past my thighs to rest against the waist band of my pants, the somewhat thin material bunching up as he gripped them tight and shoved them down further, his mouth disconnecting from mine in his distraction when he tried to get them past my knees. Using him as support I stood up, albeit awkwardly since my pants were currently bunched up around my knees, before bending down and pushing them the rest of the way to my ankles._

_While I took off the rest of my pants Shizuo rose up from his kneeling position, easily towering over me with his advantage of height. Leaving the slacks on the floor I stood up straight, pouting up at him as he smirked down at me, his hands on my upper arms as he leaned down to nuzzle my neck._

"_You know, it's not fair when you're all the way up there, and I'm all the way down here," I murmured, only half caring as he kissed and bit my neck. He didn't say anything beyond sliding the palms of his hands down my arms to the back of my thighs, gripping them tightly as he hoisted me up. Surprised by the sudden move, I wrapped my arms around his neck and locked my legs around his waist, inadvertently grinding against the stiffening bulge in his pants._

"_It is fair now?" he asked me through gritted teeth. It was obvious he felt the heat against his groin, yet he did nothing to alleviate the pressure, not shifting me up further on his body nor moving his hands from my thighs. Smirking like a Cheshire cat at this subtle change in attitude, I leaned back a bit from him, fingers playing with his shirt collar as I contemplated how to play this._

"_Hmmm…not really," I disagreed, following the edge of the shirt down to his vest and further down, unbuttoning it as I went before going back up and doing the same with his white button-up and kissing the exposed skin, all the while cursing him for wearing so many damn buttons. "I'm wearing no pants and you're all covered up. It's not exactly fair," I mumbled against his collarbone, nipping at the skin that covered it and drowning in the heat that pooled in my lower belly._

"_Like you're ever fair," he mumbled back, walking forward to press my back against the wall, his bulge rubbing against me in an achingly pleasant way that made me moan. Using the wall to keep me up, he removed his hands from my thighs and nearly ripped his vest and shirt away from his body, revealing smooth, toned skin and muscle and a few thin scratches on his arms. For the nth time I wondered how someone this skinny could possibly have all that power hidden in every inch of muscle that made up his body. But just as quickly as the thought entered my mind, it disappeared when Shizuo's hands were on me again, touching and rubbing and gripping my flesh. Then his mouth was on mine again, deep and passionate as his tongue easily slipping past my lips and caressed the pink, fleshy muscle inside as his hands ran up my stomach and sides._

_Again my mind was caught in a whirlwind of senses, my body a mass of lives wires, each end on fire as his fingers passed over my nerves and his hips ground against mine in little circles. Behind me the wall creaked and vaguely I thought about suggesting moving this operation to the bed where it really didn't matter if it got broken or not, and decided against since it would make all this "real" even though this was real and it kept getting real by the second._

_With my mind a jumbled mess, Shizuo, unknowingly, took advantage of my distracted body, running his calloused hands up my back and down my sides, removing one to grip one flap of my button-up and snarling when it caught on the buttons that held it together. _'Tch, maybe he understands how frustrating it is,'_ I thought, my mouth turning up at the corners in an amused smile as I opened my eyes and watched as his eyebrows bunched together, his mouth lifting from mine half an inch so he could see the obstruction. My smile soon flipped into a frown however when he brought his other hand from my back and ripped apart the fabric once tied with buttons that fell to the ground._

"_Hey! I have to wear this tomorrow!" I snapped, irritated as he pushed the fabric apart._

"_Sorry," he mumbled practically attacking my neck as his arms wrapped around my waist again, pulling me tight against him as the roughness of the wall left my back and soon came into contact with soft pliancy. "Sorry," he said again when I yelped, his teeth bruising my neck. In the background I noted the yowl and pitter-patter of light, scurrying feet from Shizu-chan as he fled the room, his previous place on the bed taken by me as Shizuo settled his weight on the bed and moved his body in between my legs._

"_Whatever happened…must have been something good," I murmured, lifting his head from my neck to look at him amused, seeing as he never initiated anything like this._

"_Really good," he replied, a callous hand on back, fingers fumbling with the hooks of my bra as he pressed his lips against mine again, hot and passionate and enough to make me want more, and reveling in the lightheaded feeling that came with it before I was struck down with fear. Unfortunately, certain memories have a way of popping up at the most inopportune time._

"_I…I'm sorry," I stuttered, squeezing my eyes shut and opening them again when that proved to be a bad idea. They just became more vivid. "C-can we wait?" I asked, brows drawing together in slight worry, but what did I have to worry about? He looked down at me, a confused look on his face before his head dropped to my shoulder and he took a long shuddering breath, the hand on my back slithering out to grip my shoulder tightly as he took more deep breaths._

"_I'm sorry," I repeated, otherwise mute as he lifted himself onto his knees and removed himself from between my thighs, falling onto his side and wrapping his arms around my back, pulling me against him and just holding me tightly as he slowly recovered from his hard-on._

"_Don't be sorry," he said, deep breaths in my ear as he controlled himself. Had I not been tired and facing my own issues I might have made a joke about the problem in his pants or at the very least made a little amusing comment, but my heart just wasn't in it._

"And that's what happened. I trust that I won't have to tell you to keep your mouth shut around Taka-chan, right?" I asked, partially threatening Naoki-san as I relaxed like a fat happy cat on the comfortable chair in his office, looking around the interior curiously. No longer had an hour passed after my meet-and-greet with Anri and the exquisite release of my arm from the cumbersome plaster had I called Naoki-kun out of partial boredom and a need to talk without judgment and…well judgment weighing me down.

"Pft, believe me, not a word of this will be heard by Minori-kun," he laughed while running a hand through his hair. His usual scruffy facial hair and unkempt hair neater than it usually appeared, angled and combed back, and rather than the plain white tee and jacket, in its place was a dark blue business suit and light blue necktie: sleek and chic rather than casual. "But can I ask why you didn't tell him? You know he hates being left out of the loop," he asked, setting down some files he was perusing as he quirked an eyebrow at me from behind his desk.

"He's such a girl. Not to mention he's _way_ too into my sex life. Also he's nosey and can't keep a secret worth a damn," I told him, lifting the heavy paper weight from his desk repeatedly as I flexed muscles I hadn't used in months. Wish I could say the same about last night.

"So your reason for telling me this is that you can't communicate with girls or…girl-like individuals well? You had all guy friends, didn't you," he said accusatorily, an amused smirk on his face as he picked up another file and a pen.

"Only one guy. The other is a girl."

"Tomboy?"

"Slasher-flick maniac, but that's not the point," I answered despite the point he was making successfully. "Anyway, do you have any advice for me? Not that I'm asking for personal experience. I just need some good pointers is all." He didn't say anything—either because he was thinking on it or because he was busy was anyone's guess.

"So why didn't you do it? Could he not rise to the occasion?" he asked after a while distractedly, not even lifting his eyes from the paperwork set before him by an obviously run-ragged secretary. Had I not known how commanding Naoki-san was, I'd have asked him what the problem with her was.

"Do neither of you listen to the story?!" I asked him thoroughly exasperated by their minute similarities. "He was doing fine "rising". In fact, he was doing better than fine. He was finer than anyone I've ever been with!" I continued, my point getting lost along the way and ultimately forgotten.

"Is "fine" a euphemism for big?" he asked me, setting his files away as he looked at me once again with a quirked eyebrow. I should have been mad at him, although it was hard to when he used such a serious face for such a silly question.

"Shut up. What is this, an interrogation?" I asked him, cracking a smile despite myself. He chuckled once, warm and hearty before he stood up from his seat and walked around the edge of the desk to lean against it with his arms crossed.

"No, but I can pretend to be a cop if that makes you feel more at home? I still have the uniform from my school fair from way back when," he said jokingly while holding out his hand for the oddly shaped paperweight I was using for exercise.

I snickered at the mental image; only too sure that Naoki-san would be adept at both parts. "I'm sure Taka-chan is probably just dying to see it. You know he likes you in your suit, too," I told him, handing over the small cat-monkey statue and flexing my fingers, newly appreciative of my plaster free arm.

"Who wouldn't? I make this look sinfully good," he said with a large grin as he struck several poses, making me laugh until my phone buzzed, causing the grin on my face tightened a bit when I saw it was a message from Shizuo.

**[Getting off early tonight. Will you be at home?]**

I bit my lip, wondering if I should man up or run away like a coward. "Hey Naoki-san, what are you doing later?" I asked him.

"Asking me out? Sorry Sweetie, I'm taken," Naoki-san smirked, "but anyway, I have a meeting in half an hour, but I'm free after five. Why? You wanna do something?" he asked, watching me as I sent a message back.

"Yeah, sure, just you and me out on the town," I answered back distractedly, replying to Shizuo's message with a message that sounded flippant and uncaring when really I was trying to go for the latter of my options—the latter being the cowards way out until I could come up with a good plan of action.

**[Girl's night out with Naoki-san, then Taka-chan's place. See you tomorrow.]**

"Well that's kind of derogatory, isn't it? I mean, I'm gay but by no means am I a girl," Naoki stated indignantly, leaning far above me to see the screen as I sent the message.

"Figure of speech. Don't read so much into it," I retorted, snapping my phone shut before he could see my super funny screen saver—not that I had any qualms about showing Naoki, it's just that when Shizuo saw the picture of himself asleep with a whipped cream beard he nearly snapped my phone in half and made me promise to delete it, to which I argued against adamantly and promised instead not to show anyone on purpose.

"Still, you could just say we're hanging out for a little while—"

"To your point, Naoki-kun, did you ever talk relationships with your guy friends?" I asked him, staring at him coldly as he was visibly taken aback. He sneered, looking away from me as I pocketed my phone and crossed my arms before clearing his throat uncomfortably and replying in my favor.

"Point taken. Half of them were players so it was nothing but who screwed who day in and day out," he confessed, his hand leaving his side to hover over the phone on his desk, thinking for a moment before pressing a button, a somewhat loud beep resounding in the hallway followed by the appearance of the disheveled secretary in the doorway. "Takana-kun, get me a bottle of whatever's good and two glasses and move the meeting at four to tomorrow at two and the staff meeting to sometime next week. Oh, and take the reference materials back down to the archives and bring me the numbers from last month's sales while you're at it," he told her, gesturing to her to move quickly.

Like a fidgety rabbit, the woman dashed into the room, gathering into her arms several folders and binders stacked on the far corner of the desk next to him before flitting out of the room as quick as she came.

"Do you still hang out with any of them?" I asked when the door slammed shut behind her—whether voluntarily or on purpose; although depending on the relationship between the man who was a giant teddy bear half the time and a "man-in-charge" the other, and a woman who seemed to be constantly on edge, it was more than likely the latter.

"Just a few, after high school you tend to get separated. But they're more so friends with benefits," he replied, pushing off the desk and walking back over to his posh swivel chair.

"And yet you tell Taka-chan to keep it in his pants," I remarked, smirking at the irony of his words and actions.

"Answer me this, what kind of relationship is there if there's only sex?" he asked me, gaining back the point he lost earlier.

"Good point," I muttered, looking away from the smirking man towards the window, the sunlight barely touching the interior of the room as it passed overhead. "I've told you Taka-chan's advice, care to give me yours?" I asked him, scoffing at the wall as the secretary, Takana-kun, came back, a bottle of bourbon and two small glasses on a tray in her hands along with a small stack of files. Like before, she did her job and left soon after, the files set aside, the bottle on the table and the glasses, full, in our hands.

"We'll circle back around to Minori-kun's advice, first I'd like to tell you what I think of last night," he told me, downing the glass in two large gulps and setting it down with a loud clink on the large mahogany desk. "Now, obviously there are some physiological issues swirling around in your noggin that I'm not going to touch with a twenty meter pole because that's for you to work out. Not to mention the fact that the last time I intruded in one of your affairs, you beat the living shit out of me. So here's my two cents on the matter: maybe you backed out because you had a bad first experience and you don't want to ruin his?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in question as I thought about his theory.

"…As likely a reason as any," I consented, staring at the liquid in my hand and making a silent vow to watch my intake. "How do I fix it?"

Naoki thought on this, pouring himself another gulper and downing that as quickly as the first. "Don't you have knowledge in the world of psychology? Minori-kun said something about wasting your time on something you don't even use—"

"Okay, first of all I do too use it," I started, taking offence at the sidelong comment, "secondly I want an outside opinion on the matter. I'm stubborn; if I converse with myself I get nowhere."

"True."

"So how do I fix it?"

"More so just work through it. Like what Minori-kun said, do the little things and gradually get there. It's all. About. Patience," he said, pouring a third gulper before I even finished my first.

"Truly your wisdom knows no bounds," I complimented him, letting the bourbon slip like fire down my throat and turning down the offer of a second.

"Thanks for the compliment but you're making me feel old," he grimaced, setting the bottle down after pouring a fourth. He looked at the liquid for a moment, swirling it around in his glass before a grin cracked his somber façade. "And besides, it's fun training virgins. I should know, I've had four," he said, snickering at old memories while I uncharacteristically blushed as my imagination ran wild.

"I feel like you'd get along great with my brother," I started, leaning forward and taking the bottle from the desk, pouring myself a second glass before I finished my sentence, "since you two both seem to be whores."

"Don't be mean, I'm trying to help. Besides, it's harmless teasing, just to see how far they're comfortable with," he objected while I sipped my drink thoughtfully, albeit a little disturbed by the subtle change in character I had seen as I stayed here longer than I should—considering that I had rudely intruded into his office, frazzling his secretary more than she already was.

"…You really are a sadist, aren't you?"

"Sticks and stones, Sweetheart. Sticks and stones," he said simply setting his drink aside and pulling one of the manila folders towards him, leafing through the contents briefly before leaning down behind his desk and pulling out a drawer. "Is there anything else you want to talk about before tonight? I might have moved my meetings around, but I'm still a busy man, Amai-chan."

"Besides my father living in the barn with a pet raccoon, my brother using me all hours of the week for cheap babysitting, and my inability to get laid? Nope, I'll wait for tonight to bitch and moan to my hearts content without worrying that I'm distracting you," I responded, downing the rest of my drink before I placed the glass down on the desk and stood up, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand and cracking my neck out of its stiffness. "Call me or message me when you get off."

"Pleasure talking with you, Amai-chan," he replied, making a half-waving, half-shooing motion with his hand as his attention was otherwise diverted. I turned my back on him, walking leisurely, and hesitantly, towards the door to his office. My hand was on the door handle, but neither did it grip nor turn it was I stared at the plain wood before me.

"Hey, why do you think this happened…er…didn't happen?" I asked him, since I was facing away from him, I had no knowledge of whether or not he was ignoring me or thinking about my question.

"Maybe the other guys didn't matter as much as this one does," he said offhandedly, not knowing how much weight those words carried with me. I smiled to myself and left, the door closing shut behind me as I walked past the secretary's desk into the elevator, waiting for my descent down to the ground floor, unknowing of the phone call I was about to receive later on.

_DRRR!_

It was nearly three and since I had to wait a few hours—maybe more—for Naoki to get off work, I was, for the time being, stranded in Shinjuku with no interest—nor money—to make three trips on the train back and forth. So currently I was wasting time people watching in a small café, quenching my boredom by making up various scenarios about the people inside.

An older woman, maybe mid-forties, with an exorbitant amount of make-up and bangles quietly sipping a cup of coffee at a small table in the corner while the man beside her—early thirties at most—gabbed on and on, his facial expression overjoyed and his hand gestures fleeting. She was probably a business woman, but in my mind I made her out to be an older-style gypsy from Europe touring the city, the man her guide, or possible transition helper.

Beside me was a teenage girl, long nails, colored and styled, clicking away on a baby pink cell phone, multiple charms hanging off the electronic as she sent a variety of messages. Frequently her fingers would stop and she would glance out of the corner of her eye at me before turning her attention back to the small screen. I surmised that, although I was infamous in some parts of Ikebukuro, I was subsequently known here as well. How, I do not know, but it was more than likely that like me she was just visiting here, or vice-versa.

Last but not least was a gentleman—no, strike that, the only thing gentlemanly about him was that he was a man, nearly my age if I could guess correctly, sitting alone beside the clear glass window, staring straight at the wall across from him. I could not come up with some whimsical idea about his possible story because quite frankly, he gave me nothing to work with. Everything about him was…bleak, suspicious.

Eventually the people I had observed left and new ones shuffled in, a slow trickle of business as I sat alone at my table and the man at his. At a little after four I left, planning on going to another small shop to continue my wait until I had the feeling in the form of a tingle along my spine and the back of my head that I was being followed. Never one to second guess my sixth sense I turned a bit and looked behind me, finding with some surprise the teenage girl from earlier following a few meters behind with a somewhat nervous expression, her phone clutched tightly in her painted hands.

"If you have something to say, I suggest you say it now. I'm not usually this courteous to people who stalk me; unless of course I know them," I told her, turning to face her as I walked over, trying to look a little intimidating despite the fact that she was an inch taller than me in flats.

"Y-You're Tachibana Amai, right? The Bipolar Fireball from Ikebukuro?" she asked, looking me up and down and seeming to focus on the vibrant red color of my hair.

I twitched at the name, still finding the name irritating as I replied curtly, "Yes, unfortunately that name belongs to me. So what do you want?"

"He told me to give you this before you lost all reason and did something stupid," she answered, retrieving from her pocket a twice folded square piece of paper and handing it to me. I took it hesitantly, unsure of whom she was talking about and what could possibly by written upon it. While I unfolded the paper, the girl took this as her cue to leave, walking swiftly and quickly down the street before I could stop her. Although, did I really want to? All that was written on the slip of paper were some numbers in no determinable order.

"People are weird," I said quietly to myself, refolding the paper and shoving it into my pocket before walking down the street opposite of where the girl had gone and dismissing what she had said for the time being as I walked into a small dango shop, thoughts of how to get off work tonight swirling around in my mind as I took out my phone and waited for my order.

'_I can't ask for a day off and I can't fake being sick. It should be enough to get someone to cover for me…I just have a _great_ work ethic, don't I,'_ I thought sarcastically, staring at my phone as I took the Styrofoam box from the man working the counter and left. Suddenly the phone began vibrating, the little shocks nearly causing me to drop my food out of surprise before I gathered myself and flipped it open, eyeing the number briefly and replying cheerfully into the receiver, "Onii-chan~ What's up, Colm? I haven't heard from you in awhile."

"_Amai—Amai, p-please tell me where you were last night,"_ he asked me quickly, stuttering slightly as if he were panicking.

"I was at work. Why do you—"

"_Where did you work?"_ he asked, still rushed.

"At the S&M strip club down the street. Where do you think, dumbass? The gay club, Manho-ru, near the Red Light District. Now why are you asking me?"

"_P-please tell me Carney was with you,"_ he commanded, whole heartedly ignoring my question.

"…Yeah, now what's this about, Colm?" I asked firmly, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and disturbing the human traffic around me only slightly.

"_T-t-this morning Carney called me, he said…said he needed a lawyer to come down to the police box they had him at. He-he got arrested for battery and assault, and I…I told him I wasn't the one who is a criminal defense lawyer and then he got mad at me. And I couldn't get a hold of Kichiro so I had to impersonate him. Oh God, Amai, w-what if I get arrested for identity-fraud?"_ he rambled, the small amount of stuttering impressive given the level of his stress. But now wasn't the time to focus on his improving speech given the bit of news.

"What the hell do mean assau—" I started angrily, stopping short when I thought back to the other significant event that had happened last night, mainly the group of zombie-like individuals chasing us down with knives. "Did you see the victim?"

"_What?"_

"Did you meet with him?!" I yelled loudly into the phone, startling him.

"_N-no, he's in the hospital with a few deep cuts and shallow lacerations. He didn't even remember who attacked him, they said he just woke up with no memory of how he got there,"_ he explained, _"The only clue they have linking Carney to him is a witness. And before you ask, yes, I met with the witness."_

I wasn't going to ask that at all. The only thing I might have asked pertaining to the witness was how there was a witness. A Street off of the Red Light District where all the buildings were either shops closed for the night with sleeping tenants above them or condemned buildings. A crime committed in a dark alleyway with no on looking windows or lights of any kind. It couldn't possibly be the other three people we had beaten since, as Colm had said, the man Carney cut up had no memory. It was suspicious. No, it was downright impossible. And then I thought.

"Colm nii-san, did this "witness" give off a…kind of presence one might try to avoid?"

"_Amai, you're talking to _me._ Nearly everyone I meet has that kind of presence,"_ he retorted, snarky as per usual when he got comfortable.

"Right, then let me ask this. Did he have an animalistic face? Like a wolf or a fox? With black hair and burgundy eyes?" I asked him, praying to God that he would say no since a witness I couldn't sway was much easier than a witness that would try to screw me.

"_How did you know? Yeah, he was very strange. He kept staring at me, smirking. Like he knew what I was thinking,"_ he replied with a shudder as his voice wavered slightly. _"Or who I actually was."_

"That doesn't surprise me…What kind of punishment does he stand to face?" I asked quietly, wanting to determine the weight of my choices. All the while my mouth tasted like blood—probably because I was gnawing the inside of my cheek, the cause being the simple thought of that evil, smarmy, son of a—

"_N-no idea, like I said, I'm n-not a criminal defense lawyer. Heck, I'm still a n-newbie at the office,"_ he answered truthfully. _"A-anyway, do you know where Kichiro is? I t-tried calling Misako-chan as well b-but I couldn't get in touch with her,"_ he asked me explaining the small predicament he was currently in: identity fraud. And if I didn't do something right now, he'd get his license revoked if certain people found out the same way the police did about the assault.

"No idea. Listen, just keep trying to reach Kichiro. Call me tomorrow if the situation changes," I told him sternly, staying on the phone long enough to hear his agreement before snapping it shut. Swapping out the wallet in my pocket in exchange for my phone, I found, with slight surprise, that _his_ card was still inside. Although it was crumpled and the ink was slowly fading from the few times I had crushed it in my fists, I could still read with relative ease the address written in plain text at the bottom.

I looked around my current surroundings, as well as asked a few people for help, since I had, of course, only been there twice—only one of which was voluntary and didn't end with me having my clothes ripped from my body—before starting my way down to the apartment of a well-known cretin. A cretin otherwise known as the infamous Izaya Orihara.

_DRRR!_

As I stood looking at the door of the lobby, something occurred to me: I had no idea how to get in. Briefly I thought back to the first time I had been here. I wasn't necessarily angry back then, just in dire need of money and information, and if I remembered correctly I had called him before hand, and his assistant was present to open the door for me.

'_Great, I'm left with two options: leave and come back or wait here. And damn it all if I'm too impatient to do either!'_ I seethed, taking from my back pocket my lock-picking kit as I crouched down in front of the keyhole provided in case of blackouts. _'Better to wait inside than stay out here,'_ I convinced myself, the slim picks positioned neatly in my hands and at the ready. However, before they could even touch the metal of the small tumbler system I had a sudden thought.

'_Wait, this thing is probably wired, and if I get caught it'll look bad since he's the witness and I'm the perpetrator's sister,_' I thought as I looked closer at the door and its surrounding area, putting my tool kit away as I noticed a hip level electronic box with a number pad on top.

"A key pad…number key…numbers. Tch, of course _now_ the stupid message makes sense," I grumbled, shoving my hand in my pocket and taking out the crumpled slip, smoothing it out enough to properly read the numbers before punching in the digits. Vaguely, while I waited for the door to open of its own accord, wondered if Shizuo had ever been here and if he had broken down the door to get at the inside. The inside of the lobby and the borders of the door certainly didn't _look _damaged.

The door unlocked and pushed inward, allowing me to walk into the confines of the elevator and take it to my desired floor. The ride was short and when it stopped I got out and walked the long way to where his door was.

"Orihara-san! _Orihara-san!_ Get out here you smirking piece of shit! And face me like a man!" I shouted angrily, banging on the door of his apartment rapidly. Seeing as I had been here a good two minutes yelling at a door in a vacant hallway, it was a good chance that neither employer nor employee were in the apartment/office at the moment.

"You pull this type of shit, and you don't even have the common courtesy to be at home so I can beat your ass into the ground?!"I shouted again, furious that the most I was doing in way of helping my little brother was getting rid of steam so I didn't do anything stupid. "Screw this, I'm not waiting out here for someone like you," I muttered, getting down on my knees and taking out my kit again, the tumbler system unlocking under my careful touch.

"…That was too easy," I decided as I passed into the threshold of his home/office. I looked around the empty room, sunlight streaming in through the enormous windows. "No security, no traps, I'm almost disappointed," I murmured, walking over to the windows and looking down at the streets below, as if I were looking for the black haired, Eskimo-coat wearing man.

"Where are you…?" I asked myself squinting as the light got in my eyes.

"If you looked around a bit more you wouldn't have to ask that question," someone answered me, making me jump in surprise and whip around to see the oh-so-familiar burgundy eyes of the wicked man standing beside the black leather couch, his coat gone displaying his this thin, long sleeve shirt wearing body.

"Why do you have teenage girls doing your bidding?" I asked him, ignoring his snide comment as I glared at him.

"Would you have reacted similarly had a man been following you?" he asked, smirking lightly, his arms crossing his chest as he leaned his hip against the back of the couch. My lip curled as I sneered at him but I said nothing, confirming his assumption and making his smirk stretch wider. "Do you want anything?" he asked me, turning partially away towards an entryway in the back.

"I'm not here on a social visit," I spat, clenching my hands into fists as I watched him turn and walk away from me.

"I'll just make myself something then. I'd have Miss Yagiri do it, but I've given her the day off," he went on, walking into a pretty damn decent kitchen if the two feet of shiny linoleum, sliver of clean cabinets and the fact that my old kitchen had been little better than a hovel with doors and walking, squeaking trash disposals were anything to go by.

"Stop it."

"Stop what?" he asked, his voice carrying across the room from where he had disappeared.

"Stop trying to ignore the reason why I came here you amoral asshole!" I shouted, his head popping out around the corner, a rather confused look on his face before it quickly melted into a Cheshire cat smile.

"Quite the precarious problem your brother is in isn't it. He's just young enough to fly under the radar and still be considered a juvenile, but considering the circumstances he'll be tried as an adult. Too bad this happened all because his big sister was _jealous_," he snickered, retreating back into the kitchen while I lamented my own part in my brother's possible imprisonment.

"Like you have any right to talk," I murmured through clenched teeth, glaring at the ground in utter contempt. "How'd you even know it was him anyway? The victim didn't even remember what happened," I asked him, not moving from my spot while he tinkered around in the kitchen.

"I _am_ an informant, Amai-chan. Knowing things and selling information is what I do," he replied in a clipped yet amused tone.

"Somehow I doubt the later was involved in the police apprehending my brother. Although I severely doubt you did this out of the goodness of your heart either," I sneered, looking behind me at the desk and its contents.

"And why is that so hard to believe, Amai-chan?"

"Because you're ninety-nine percent evil and self-interested, that's why," I replied, moving a few steps inward cautiously, as if he would suddenly jump out and gut me on the spot with his flick back. He was silent for a moment, and I thought him near hesitant until he burst out laughing, asking me what the other one percent was. "…It's the percent of humanity that you've dwindled down from the nub you started with from the first time I met you," I grumbled in answer, before quickly snapping at him, "now shut up and tell me how you knew! And skip the "it's my job" shtick."

"You know, it's so sickeningly sweet how couples are like each other. Like last night, Shizu-chan said almost the exact same thing when he was here to "kick me ass". Before he was spirited away by Celty of course," he started, reappearing around the entryway and looking at me out of the corner of his eye, smirking lightly. I was beginning to think I'd never get—nor see—a genuine smile out of this man.

"Stop dodging the question," I growled between clenched teeth, silently wondering when Shizuo had come here and why he didn't get the job done.

"I'm not dodging anything, Amai-chan. I'm just starting at the beginning."

"Then skip to the end."

"I would get to it if you stopped talking. Be patient," he snapped his ever calm and collected façade cracking a bit as I began to annoy him. I stayed silent gesturing with one hand for him to continue as he crossed the room to stand before me, hands in his pockets. "Now as I was saying, I just happened to see on the chat room after they left the little love notes for Shizu-chan, and I just happened to wonder how you'd react if you saw it, so I just happened to send it to you and I just happened to be in the area to see the little fight you got into, and I just happened to see your dear brother cut up that poor man. As you can hear it's all just a coincidence," he said smoothly, raising his hands in a half-hearted shrug as I gritted my teeth.

"Sure. Entirely coincidental," I agreed sarcastically before getting to the point of what I wanted from him. "Now about what you saw, I need you to help make it go away," I told him somewhat apprehensive about what he would do—if I was lucky he'd just bribe me, if I was even more lucky he would just want money.

"Are you asking me to manipulate the law, Amai-chan?" he asked incredulously, acting as if the very thought appalled him.

"I know you can, don't even pretend like you can't."

"And why should I?" he asked, dropping his smile as he looked at me. I opened my mouth to reply, but immediately shut it again, scowling since I hadn't exactly thought this through.

"Because I'll do whatever you want," I spat out once again not thinking.

His passive face broke as his smile widened, much like a fox's did when facing easy prey. "Anything?" he asked, repeating what I had said, with a devious glint in his eye.

"A…almost anything," I reiterated, biting my tongue as I watched him cautiously.

"And to what extent are you willing to go to? And why? For your beloved younger brother? Tch, you two are so alike it's repulsive," he grumbled, going from cunning to callous in no more than a second as he approached me, towering over my small frame.

"Familial love is more important than anything, not that I'd expect _you_ to understand," I replied curtly, taking a few steps back instinctively until my lower back hit the edge of his desk. His hands came down on either side of me, banging against the table top while his lean body leaned over me. While I looked up at him, confused and—I'll admit it—a bit scared, I couldn't help but notice how the sunlight looming behind us made his eyes seeming glow brighter with delight and all the more lethal.

"Yes, but _how_ important is it?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me. "Would you fight for them?"

"Yes," I replied in a heartbeat.

"Would you do anything to save them from harm?"

"Yes."

"Is your relationship with your family more important than any other?"

I hesitated, thinking through the few friendships I'd made and the personal relationship I currently had with a certain bodyguard. "…Yes."

His smile stretched wider, making him look more and more like the Cheshire cat. "If your other relationships were jeopardized in order to save your brother, would you do it?" I hesitated before asking him to be clearer with this question. "Your uncle has spent a near third of his life locked up with criminals. Do you want your precious little brother to go through the same? Maybe even face what happened to you all those years ago?"

I gave him a look, confused as to what he was implying before he clarified what he meant, much to my disgust and repulsion. "Say yes or hope he doesn't drop the soap," he said in a clipped tone.

"Yes," I replied, if I could have, I'd have said it much quicker than I already did. He was awful. No, he was downright evil. But how could I ever say no? I know my brother well enough to know that he was a tough and resilient guy, and that something like that probably wouldn't happen to him, or even cross his mind. Still, I'm his big sister, it's my solemn duty to protect my brothers—the same applied to my older brothers as well. I'd fight with them, I'd fight for them, and I'd make sure I did everything I could to protect them. So doing this one last thing for Izaya was something I'd do with…medium hesitance.

"Excellent. Do as I say Amai and all your brothers' troubles will go away," he commanded. His devious grin at the end of his sentence was forever locked away in a vault of nightmares as I nodded my head in agreement.


	57. Chapter 57:Note of Pleasure Hint of Pain

**No words can describe how difficult this chapter was to write—I think there's an imprint of the space bar from all the times I banged my head on the key board. So needless to say I would **_**love**_** to see feedback. Also, Happy Holidays~! See you next year! Also, this chapter? Definitely rated M, so if you don't want to read it, read about halfway past the first** _DRRR!_ **then skip ****to the second **_DRRR!_** otherwise enjoy.**

"It doesn't sound like anything you should worry about," Tom said, giving me back my cell after reading the message Amai had sent back. If it didn't sound like anything I should worry about, then I wouldn't have shown him the message and asked him what it sounded like. So since I did then it meant that I _should_ be worried. But what was I worried about? That she was avoiding me? That much was obvious since she tried to hide behind a glass case. "Did something happen last night?" he asked, watching my face as we walked to the next client. If he asked that then I guess my irritability was showing through.

"Yes, er…no…" I answered, unsure of how to answer since we did technically do _something_ last night but we didn't actually…shit. It's simple but it's complicated. Shit, whatever it is, I'm not mad that we didn't have sex last night and I'm not mad at her. I was just mad that she was pointedly avoiding me.

"You sure? You can't tell with women but the smallest things set them off. But it has to be large enough to make her stupid enough to hide behind glass," Tom mused, walking on ahead of me while I thought over every bare instant that might have made her upset. Although from the look she gave me before crouching down, it seemed like she was more so embarrassed or afraid.

"Yeah, must be," I agreed half-heartedly, distracted as I tried to remember the affectionate words she had told me in some foreign language. Maybe she was embarrassed about that? No, maybe she was embarrassed about being half-naked last night. Wait…did Amai even _get_ embarrassed? No, but she sure as hell enjoyed it whenever I did.

"Well, whatever it is, just remember to apologize next time you see her," Tom advised making me stop short in surprise and growl in response.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why do I have to apologize?!" I asked him through gritted teeth, more than annoyed.

He stopped, looking back at me dully and shrugging nonchalantly before he answered, "Because you're the guy, the guy always apologizes. It's like an unspoken law." He turned around, leading the rest of the way to the next debtor. I scoffed, glaring hard at the ground before following quickly behind him, content to take my frustration out on the next guy with a bad excuse, my new found restraint be damned.

"Don't even know that I did wrong," I mumbled, taking out of my pocket my pack of cigarettes and lighter before remembering I was at my limit for today. I scowled, shoving the half-empty pack and its companion back in my pocket. _'Amai and her need to prolong my life…I guess it's nice to hear once in a while,'_ I thought, biting back the addiction. I was down to three and if I had one more then she would notice, somehow she always noticed.

"No one ever does, buddy," Tom commented while taking us through a narrow street and up a short flight of steps where a twenty-something-year-old was hiding and hoping we wouldn't visit. I don't know why Amai hid from me, and I don't know why she was avoiding seeing me. Would I really see her tomorrow, or was that a lie? Whatever it was it was pissing me off to a certain degree, enough so that when the client started begging for more time and making false promises, I lost it and threw him out the window.

_DRRR!_

A few clients later, along with a few hours, and I was free to leave, the irritation from this afternoon still present as I walked up the familiar stairs to my apartment. I wondered for a moment whether or not I should have insisted on accompanying Tom on the last few collections before finally going home. Not that he couldn't handle them on his own; it's just that it was not worth it to come home early for a cat. A cat Amai had stubbornly continued to call that stupid name.

'_She says he resembles me, but I still don't see how,'_ I thought bitterly, stopping in front of my door and fishing out my key from my pocket, inserting the small metal bit into the lock mechanism and twisting it, unlocking the door and walking inside. I don't know why but I looked around, finding what I expected: minimal darkness as the sun set beyond the single window across from me and no living being, besides the small cat peeking around the crack in the bedroom door at me.

"Hazelnut, come here kitty," I said, calling him over as I shut the door behind me and dropped the key on top of the counter. I unclipped my bowtie as he slipped his small skinny body through the opening and trotted over, sitting at my feet as I took off my shoes before launching himself up into the air, landing on my crouched body and nuzzling himself against the side of my head affectionately. His fur—or rather the fuzz that now covered his back, sides and belly—scratched against my cheek, like a very short brush, and once again I worked to cool down the anger that filled my body when Amai's younger brother came to mind. The delinquent…something-Ka…Kas…Can…

"Screw it." I reached my hand up and gently rubbed his ears, at least I hoped it was gently. But the deep resounding purr he gave me soon after and the nudge against the palm of my hand was good reassurance. Suddenly he stopped purring, turning his head away towards the bedroom door and listening to some noiseless sound. He hoped down to the floor and ran to the door, nudging it aside as he disappeared around the corner. I ignored him, unbuttoning my vest and letting it hang before opening the fridge, seeing what I had and what was about to expire.

Before I could decide a loud _thump_ sounded beyond the partially opened door, followed closely by a hiss and spat from Hazelnut. Concerned that he had either dropped something on the floor or had been hit by something that had fallen, I walked quickly to the bedroom, scanning the room briefly before noticing, in the near darkness, the light around the slightly ajar door of the bathroom, and the blurry figure in the sliver of mirror I could see.

"Hazelnut, what the hell are you doing?" I growled while stomping over to the door the minute I saw the fluffy blonde tail through the crack, paying no more attention to the figure I had seen in the mirror. Although in retrospect I should have been more weary and cautious, considering who was on the other side.

"Hazel—" I began to say, pushing open the door and expecting to find the half-shaven cat standing alone in the bathroom, only to stop short and stare, wide-eyed, at my girlfriend. Standing wet, naked, and with only a towel wrapped around her with another in her hands as she roughly dried her hair, a small scowl on her face as she pulled the towel off her head and ran a hand through her hair, scowling again when she still found it very damp. In my peripheral vision I saw Hazelnut sitting on the sink, but I was too busy staring to truly notice.

"Amai? Wh-what the hell are you doing here?" I asked her, getting over my shock by attempting to look anywhere but at her legs and her breasts and her…body in general. She looked over, slight surprise littering her face before it gave way to amusement tinged mischief.

"I think the better question is: how long have you been standing there, Shizuo," she replied cheekily, raising the towel to her head while she spoke and working to dry her hair better—she always complained, when I told her to take a break, that if she let it air-dry it would be far more unmanageable than it already was.

I felt the blood rush to my face, making her laugh a bit but otherwise stay silent. "Just a...couple minutes," I replied, before asking her, "Do you have anything on under there?" I don't know why I asked, whether to make set myself or to make myself feel better, but she answered in both ways anyway.

"Yeah. Actually I have my birthday suit on under here. Do you wanna see it?" she asked, grinning widely as more blood rushed through my veins, the direction it was going indeterminate.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked her again, growling in frustration as I looked away from the towel and the body it covered, all too aware how easily it could be revealed if the knot she had the towel in loosened.

"Sheesh Shizuo, you say that like you don't want me here," she remarked, her smile tightening a bit, like she was hurt.

"No I…I don't mean it like that," I backpedaled, not wanting to make her think something I didn't mean. "You said that you were going to hand out with one of your friends," I clarified, looking back at her as she took the towel off her head and checked her hair again. I walked over, the humid air inside having all but dissipated as I took the towel from her hands and placed it back over head, rubbing her hair roughly while she fidgeted.

"I wanted to surprise you, but drying my hair was a bigger project than I remember," she replied curtly, dropping her hands by her sides as she continued in a pout-filled voice, "What a terrible way to greet you, naked with only a towel to cover me."

I grumbled, practically seeing her smirk through the towel. "Yeah, terrible," I mumbled, moving the towel from her head to her shoulders and looking down at her deep green eyes. "How was your day?" I asked her, wanting to move onto any subject that didn't involve the fact that the only thing standing between me seeing her nude was a seemingly thin towel.

She bit her lip, a strange look overcoming her face before it disappeared and she answered tightly, "…Could have been better. I had to babysit my nephew today. I mean, I don't mind Kichiro using me for cheap babysitting; I just want to get paid for half-assing my day job too." She seemed to loosen a bit as she talked about her nephew, and as I thought back to when she had ducked to avoid me I remembered she had been cradling a baby in her arms—an image that came off as endearing before she noticed and hid. For now I'd focus on the baby and leave any questions pertaining to her avoidance for later.

"The baby you were holding, that was your nephew?" I asked her, watching her face light up and her smile. Subconsciously I wondered if, if it was possible, she would light up like that if it were…our baby.

"Yeah, little baby Gavin. Such a sweetie, but he cries if he's not held every five minutes," she said, happy until she looked up at me with a mischievous glint in her eye. "You know, you're a very unusual guy, Shizuo," she said while taking the towel from around her shoulders and laying it on the edge of the sink next to Hazelnut.

"Yeah I know," I replied, a little despondent, only to turn surprised as she laughed and said to the contrary,

"No, I mean, we've been talking for the last five minutes and you've been trying hard not to look or even jump on the chance to see me naked."

"I just don't want it to seem like I'm pushing you."

"Shizuo, the only one doing the pushing in this relationship is me. You just seem…really hesitant. I mean, I guess I understand," she said, sounding a little hurt yet considerate before she continued, "You're a virgin and all so you're new so all this—"

I stopped her short before she could continue. "You think that's the issue? I don't want to hurt you, Amai! If I'm hesitant it's because if we go that far I might not be able to control myself," I told her, my hands tight on her shoulders as I stared hard at her. She stared back, more so glaring at me with the same ferocity she showed whenever we argued.

"Maybe I'm not asking you to control yourself," she retorted quietly, making me sigh in frustration that we were going to have this argument again. Recently I'd finally gained control, but I wasn't willing to put it to the test on Amai. "If you're too busy trying to keep yourself in line, then neither of us will enjoy it."

She had a point, but despite how gung-ho I was yesterday I didn't want to put myself above her safety. "Amai, you're not being reasonable about this—"

"_I'm_ not being reasonable? I'm feeling very rejected here, Shizuo. Do you not want to?" she asked me, catching me off guard. Of course I wanted to, but I didn't want to hurt her in the process. Why couldn't she see that?

"…I do but…"

"Then do you not want me?" she asked with the same fierce voice as before, so fierce that I ended up responding in kind, offended that she would even suggest that.

"Of course I want you!" I yelled, annoyed that this conversation was going out of control and there didn't seem to be an end to it. That is, until she did something unexpected and impulsive. The minute she did so I wondered what was going through her mind to make her do something like this. The second after my mind just went blank as I openly stared; it wasn't every day I saw her like this.

"Alright," she said, raising her hands to the knot of the towel and nearly ripping it open, the plain cloth falling away from her body and laying in a pile on the floor around her feet. Naked. My girlfriend was naked, standing in front of me and taunting me as she crossed her arms under her breasts and said in a challenging voice, "You're move, Shizuo."

I didn't move, nor did I speak, all I did was stare at her, unable to do anything else besides swallowing the lump that had grown in my throat and committing every detail, every imperfection to memory. Feeling like this would be the last time I would see her like this. My eyes darted over every square inch of skin, my ears burning hot when they ran over her peaks and the …er…_area_ between her legs. It was no more than a few minutes later that she spoke again, the same voice in her throat and the same taunting tone.

"This isn't exactly how I thought this day would go so if you're going to make a move than I suggest hurrying up; its cold in here as I'm sure you can see," she said, repositioning her arms to span her hands over the gooseflesh covering her upper arms. Although I'm sure it's not her arms that she's referring to. I broke my stare away, more than disappointed in myself that I was staring at like a perverted high-schooler, like a piece of meat on the chopping block.

"Shouldn't have dropped the towel then," I mumbled, kneeling down before her to pick it up off the ground before wrapping it around her shoulders, covering the most tantalizing areas of flesh. _'Natural redhead,'_ I thought absentmindedly diverting my eyes elsewhere as she glared up at me.

"You're really clueless, aren't you Shizuo," she said deadpan causing me to glance back down at her and angrily reply:

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

She huffed, frustrated that I, apparently, wasn't getting her point. "I didn't do this for the hell of it, I did it because I want to know if you want me," she elaborated, making me confused. Why was she asking me something I already answered?

"I already told you that I do!" I shouted, unable to keep my voice conversational. She, in turn, stopped glaring at me, and for a moment I thought this fairly pointless conversation over, but instead she narrowed her eyes at me. They weren't glaring at me, and in the leaf green pools I saw no anger, she just…looked at me, challenged me, and asked me again slowly,

"I know you did, but you're not proving to me that you do, so I'll ask again: Do you. Want me." I would have answered just as quickly had I not seen a flash of something like anticipation cross her eyes. This conversation…was much more complicated than it should have been. How did other couples do this? Why was this difficult? I growled lightly, running a hand through my hair as I looked away from her and her wide, green, expectant eyes. Like this she looked like a spoiled Shiba Inu asking for a treat instead of something that was much greater.

My lip curled in distaste due to the way this conversation was going. It wasn't a fight, but it felt like I was losing; then again, was this even a discussion? I wanted to. She wanted to. Was that even complicated?

"Do you…do you really want to?" I asked, like I needed to confirm what she had already displayed.

"Don't ask obvious questions. But you're free not to if you don't want to," she confirmed.

I twitched, her statement unexpected yet not uncharacteristic. "Don't contradict yourself. It's confusing," I growled at her, my hand clutching my hair in frustration as I looked down at her smallish figure. Why was I fighting this? I loved her, she loved me. We were comfortable around each other and she didn't fear my strength. I couldn't help it as my face broke into a smile. This next step…it was natural. It was _normal_. But the elated feeling in my chest didn't disguise the underlying shadow of worry.

"The moment I hurt you, you need to tell me. Understand?" I told her, the smile slipping from my face as a look of seriousness took its place. She mimicked me to a fault and nodded, red curls bouncing around her face with a dull shine before falling listlessly against the pure white pillows—light gray in the small amount of light leaking in from the bathroom. Her face turned flush as I straddled her bare hips, the tips of her hair caught underneath my fingertips in miniscule knots.

If I didn't know better I'd think she was embarrassed by the position she was in, but more than likely it was from when she was straddling my hips and fighting my tongue for dominance moments earlier in the bathroom. The feel of her soft curves pressed tightly against my clothed body was enough to set my nerves on edge—as if it weren't already.

"Hey Shizuo?" she softly called, grabbing my attention away from the peach-colored flesh set before me.

I swallowed thickly before replying with a hoarse, "yeah?"

"I think I made a point of telling you yesterday that the degree of nakedness wasn't fair," she stated, pointing out the obvious difference between us in terms of clothing.

"Yeah," I replied again, slipping my vest over my shoulders and letting it drop over the side of the bed, followed closely by my white button-up as soon as I had undone all the damn buttons. Amai followed my every movement with a somewhat joyful glint in her eye that quickly turned predatory as soon as my hands touched my belt buckle. She stopped me, her slim hands over mine, a tingling sensation spreading over the backs.

"Not yet," she said, making me look at her quizzically before my face turned red and timid. I looked away sheepishly and decided to let her so as she pleased—she was, after all, more experienced in this than I was. She smiled, amused, before shifting her position, sitting up underneath me and craning her neck to press her lips against the underside of my jaw in a soft kiss, trailing them down my throat to my collarbone and nipping the skin there before continuing downward. Her finger tips skimmed my stomach, the muscles underneath the flesh tightening and jumping with each stroke. It was a nice feeling, one that made me lightheaded and eager.

"Can I…?" I started, trailing off when I couldn't think how to finish. How could I possibly think at all when her lithe fingers were unbuckling my belt and playing with the button on my pants?

She smiled against my pectorals, glancing up at me once with mirth in her eyes before removing herself from me altogether, her legs slithering out from underneath me and folding underneath her as she kneeled in front of me—the top of her head barely reaching my nose. "Don't ask, Shizuo, just do," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing her upper body against mine once again as she buried her face against my neck, nipping and licking and kissing my throat as I hesitantly placed my hands on her back, sliding them up to her shoulder blades before touching her sides.

I slid one hand down to her hip and the other…the other slid under her breast, barely skimming the rounded flesh as she shivered—in anticipation? Because of the cool weather outside sneaking in? I had no idea. I moved my hand again, her breast resting comfortably in the palm of my hand. Curious, I moved my thumb over her nipple, hardened by the cooling air and further more so by my timid caress. Against my neck she bit my skin once, sharply.

Did she like it?

My thumb ran over it again, harder due to my own curiosity to see her reaction. I wasn't disappointed as she gave a sound equal to that of a mewling cat, her fingers tangling into the hair lying on the back of my neck. Spurred on by her reaction I continued, running my other hand up her stomach in a rough caress until it cupped her other, neglected attribute and doing a similar treatment as the other. She was livid, gentle pants hitting my neck until I pushed her back on the bed, red curls once again spread out on the pillow as I leaned over her, licking and biting her clavicle and continuing down to her right breast, wavering a bit as I got to the tip of the peak. Should I or shouldn't I? I glanced up at her, planning to ask before lighting upon an expression I hadn't seen on her yet. Heated want.

I smiled inwardly as I focused back on her breast, my tongue slipping out of my mouth as I pressed it against the bud, reveling in the mewling sounds she gave me. While I focused on one, my hand continued on the other, the small nub rolling under my fingers. Her hands, shaking slightly, snuck into my hair once again, holding me against her as she panted, her left leg rising and resting against my side. On reflex I moved my hand, grasping her leg right below her knee and holding it where it lay. Below me she moaned, for what reason I didn't know until moved my body further up hers and discovered something warm pressed against my groin.

"Amai?"

"Hah~ what?" she asked, face flushed and sounding vaguely out of breath. I paused, watching her expression as I rolled my hips against hers, watching her unseeing eyes turn up to the ceiling and light breaths escape though her lips. "Don't tease me like that, Shizuo," she panted, turning her eyes towards me though they were heated and glazed over. I didn't respond, I just hiked her leg further up my hip and nuzzled her neck as she complained about my "teasing".

It was an exhilarating feeling, hearing her make such sounds for the things I was doing. Yet before I knew it I was on my back, Amai straddling my waist and looking down at me with a semi-pissed, semi-smug expression. "I told you not to tease me," she said in reply to my stunned expression.

"So what are you going to do?" I asked her. It was an innocent question; she'd already flipped us over, what else would she do? If I had anything to go by it would be the widening grin on her face as she leaned down towards my stomach and stuck out her tongue. She looked up at me briefly, some sort of glint in her eye, before she laid her tongue flat against my navel, leaving a trail of saliva as she moved up. Her tongue retreated into her mouth when she reached the hollow at the base of my throat, her lips forming a very wide smile as I let out a long shuddering breath.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked with a smirk on her face as she kissed the corner of my mouth, though I couldn't really concentrate on her words since currently her groin was pressed tightly against an important part of my anatomy. I didn't answer her verbally, I simply nodded, my focus solely on the pleasurable heat she was emitting. The smirk on her face dimmed a bit to a soft smile. "Good," she replied leaning back on my lap as she took the waistband of my pants in hand and unbuttoning the top button. Slowly she pulled the zipper, as if savoring the unwrapping of a present. Briefly I wondered what it would have felt like to have done the same with her clothes.

My thoughts were suddenly stopped when her lithe hands slid the fabric down a bit, the bulge underneath making itself known, embarrassing me as she smirked. Anticipation took hold of my body, stiffening my joints and setting my nerves alight as her fingertips ghosted over the hidden, hardened muscle. Her smile disappeared, suddenly aware of what she was about to uncover, having never seen me fully nude—frontal that is since she had "accidentally" walked in on me after _my_ shower several weeks prior.

"Ready?" she asked me, hands clenching the elastic of my boxers. I looked up at her, baffled.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" I growled, hooking my hands around her knees and giving a sharp tug towards me, forcing her down onto my chest before rolling us over again, my hips fitting snuggly between her thighs as I glared down at her. "We do all this and you ask me if I'm _ready_? I've been ready since you dropped the damn towel!" I shouted kneeling between her legs and getting an eyeful of her red-lined treasure, lamenting for a moment that I was not the first, but I would certainly be her last. "If you're not ready then you have to tell me now, because once we start I'm not stopping unless I hurt you. You have to tell me the second I start hurting you, got it?" I ranted, practically tearing my pants as I pulled them down to my knees and slid them off my legs, leaving them to hang off the side of the bed as I gripped the waistband of my underwear. I halted any further action, waiting for her agreement.

Her surprised face cracked into a smile as she laughed a bit. "I was only asking out of politeness. With how you reacted last month I wasn't sure how you'd react if you were naked in front of me again," she explained, her laughter dying down to small giggles as she waited eagerly for me to drop my pants. I narrowed my eyes at her before pulling down my boxers, intent on stopping her laughter.

It worked, better than I could have imagined as she stopped her soft laughter, her eyes slightly widened as she took me in. For a moment I thought that this would be the moment when she would start getting serious, but that thought quickly changed when her mouth—which had been slightly ajar as she openly stared—turned up at the corners, and the glint in her eye returned.

"You really are a brunette," she snickered, tilting her head childishly as she looked at the patch of brown hair below my stomach.

"Shut up," I grumbled, sitting back on the bed as I removed my underwear and practically threw them at the floor. "And stop staring so damn much."

"To be fair, you were staring just as much as I was," she replied curtly sitting up and crossing her legs, copying me as I looked away.

"Give me a break. I've never seen a girl naked before," I murmured, my gaze flicking to hers in a heated glare when she mumbled,

"Not one in the flesh anyway." I growled, livid as I took her shoulders and bent her back towards the mattress, her surprised expression refreshing as I continued where I left off: mouth on her breast, hand on her hip, obnoxious side comments behind us as her soft mewling continued in my ear. Before long I moved my hand down to the apex between her thighs, the heat hitting my hand as it hovered above her. "You don't play fair," she moaned, her hips bucking a bit, the mound of her womanhood hitting against the palm of my hand.

I detached my mouth from her breast, placing my lips on her neck as I murmured into it, "Like you ever play fair." Two of my fingers curled, wet heat quickly enveloping them as Amai gave a very sharp moan, bucking her hips again as her hands twisted into my hair. "You're really wet," I told her absentmindedly as I stroked the tight walls inside of her. She threw her head back, allowing me more access to her neck as I kissed her jaw and caught her earlobe between my teeth.

"What did…did…what did I sa—ah~…about teasing me, Shizuo," she moaned in between pants, drunk on endorphins as she trailed one hand to my back and dug into the tough flesh with her blunt nails. As for me I decided that I couldn't get enough of how she was saying my name.

"Not to," I replied half paying attention as I moved my lips along her jaw and captured her panting mouth with mine in a hot kiss as she arched her back against me, her thigh grinding against my length and causing me to groan with her. "Fine, no more teasing," I bit out, confidant that she had done that on purpose to make a point. I slipped my fingers from her heat, a small sound of protest escaping her lips before another small sound took its place as I nudged my way between her legs, the tip of my length barely touching her before I paused, hesitating.

"Oh come on, Shizuo, this is not the time to be stalling," she whined, bucking again, the head of my manhood slipping past her slick folds and nearly making me lose control right there.

"Maybe you should be on top," I told her, overly conscious that if I lost control Amai would get hurt.

She stared up at me, heat and confusion in her eyes as she asked, "How do I know you don't just want a naked girl in your lap?"

"You've already been in my lap, it's not gonna make much of a difference at this point," I barked at her, my hands digging into the sheets. Realization clouded her eyes and for the first time in a while she was fully serious as she reached up with her hand and cupped my cheek.

"I trust you. You know that, don't you?" she said sincerely, her thumb rubbing the upper curve as she looked into my eyes. Leaf green meeting dark brown.

"Maybe you shouldn't," I replied, taking one of my hands off the bed and slipping it over hers, grasping it tightly. I froze a bit when a flash of hurt ran through her eyes, I quickly let go of her hand, thinking that I was the cause, but the hurt remained there.

"I. Trust. _You_," she repeated, more firmly than before. My heart swelled, hearing her say that so adamantly, and I kissed her again, her tongue rubbing against mine and distracting me as her hand left my back, trailing down my side, to my stomach and further down until her hand grasped my manhood, making me buck once in surprise and groan at the pleasure of having her lithe hand wrapped around me. "Ready?" she asked me, watching me carefully as she gently guided me down to the hidden opening.

I nodded, nervous, and with one quick thrust of my hips I was sheathed inside her. A pocket of warm, tight muscle enveloping me and making me shudder as Amai let out a cry of shock. Her legs bent up on either side of my waist, encircling me and holding me still as she got used to my size. Or given the fact that she hadn't been with anyone in well over a year she was just getting use to having someone inside her after so long. Silently and selfishly I hoped she'd get used to it soon, it was hard to stay in control when this delicious feeling was just that, and each time her inner muscles squeezed was like torture.

Below me she let out a long sigh, her eyes heavy-lidded. Her nails slowly disconnected from my shoulder blades but she kept her hands on my back. She craned her head towards me, lips brushing mine and capturing my bottom lip. I took that as a signal to continue, pulling out of her a little and pushing inside again as she groaned. In and out, over and over, each moan and mewl and breathy sigh fuel. Each time I thrust into her, her hips rose up to greet mine and as my pace grew faster and deeper and rougher, so did her voice. On one thrust I got particularly deep, hitting something inside her and causing her to scream. I stilled instantly, thinking that I had somehow hurt her.

"Amai, are you okay?" I asked her, worry crossing my face as I backed off of her, pulling out a bit only to be pushed back in when her legs tightened around my waist.

"Do it again, Shizuo," she begged, wrapping her arms around my neck as she hugged me close and bucked her hips, grinding against me and generating a lot of sick friction. I did as she asked, pushing against the spot I had hit before and taking pleasure in the way her face contorted in bliss. I continued in this fashion, each thrust bringing with it a cry of my name and a wave of sinful pleasure that came from her tight inner walls.

"Amai…Amai…I think…I think I'm gonna…" I panted, grasping her thigh as I pushed deeper, eager to spill inside of her.

"Yeah…me too," she replied, wailing soon after as she came. The tightness, the heat, the sight of her like this because of me, they all contributed against me as I followed her off the edge of ecstasy, emptying everything within me deep inside of her, holding her close until the last drop left. I felt lightheaded. I felt warm. And, as I rolled off of her and onto my side—wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close—I felt my bangs get brushed away from my sweaty forehead, a pair of warm lips pressed sweetly against and a soft murmur of something I couldn't quite catch before I slowly lost consciousness.

_DRRR!_

The room was blurry as I opened, it was still dark and for all I knew it could have been a few minutes or a few hours since I fell asleep. The exhaustion from some simple exercise more than I would have thought. Slowly I turned onto my side, fully expecting to see Amai lying beside me. Only to find the spot beside me empty, the room void of her presence—in more ways than one.

"Amai?" I called out, my throat thick and husky as I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed, reaching down and pulling my underwear up my legs. I received no answer as I stood up, crossing the bedroom floor to the door to see if she was in the main room. My hand barely touched the door knob when a small glint of silver caught my eye on the dresser.

Slowly I reached over and picked it up, turning it over multiple times in my hand as I tried to convince myself that this wasn't her key. "Amai, this isn't funny," I called out loudly, wrenching open the door and seeing that the only living thing outside my bedroom was Hazelnut, curled up into a little ball on top the coffee table.

Slowly I closed the door, not understanding what was going on. Inside my fist the small metal key bent, like aluminum foil in my grasp as I opened the drawers in the dresser and the door of the closet, finding none of the few clothes she had cared to leave here. As if she had packed them up and taken them with her. Despite seeing what was happening, I was still disbelieving of the evidence. Why would she leave? After what we had just done, why would she leave? Or was this her way of…

I dropped the key to the ground and looked for my phone, flipping it open as soon as it was in my hands and nearly jamming the buttons as I dialed her number, pressing it against my ear as I listened for the dial tone.

And practically roaring in anger when I heard what should have been her voice.

"_I'm sorry. The number you have dialed has blocked this number. Please hang up an—"_

I hung up and dialed again, getting the same message as before. "What the hell is this?" I asked aloud, my voice tight, harsh in the darkness as I dropped the phone on the ground and balled my hands into fists. My breathing became ragged and my chest rose and fell quickly as I tried to calm myself. "What the hell…_IS THIS?!_" I shouted, grabbing hold of the nightstand and throwing it at the door. The edge caught the wall beside it as it broke through the door, sending it spinning into the main room.

Of course, I knew what this was, I wasn't stupid. It was obvious from the lack of everything Amai owned. She wanted to break up. After everything that had happened, after everything we had done…she wanted to break up. If she wanted to—

"_YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME!_" I roared grabbing hold of the dresser and flinging it at the open closet, clothing and jagged planks of wood littering the floor as the dresser burst open against the wall beside the open door. I continued breathing heavily, looking for something else to destroy, to vent out my anger. Then I saw it, a cherry wood stained violin case, hidden on the top shelf inside the closet. In a fit I crossed over the wreckage of my anger and grabbed the neck of the case, the instrument inside giving a small _twang_ of protest.

I planned to throw it, destroy it, and make her hurt as much as I was hurting. But the second I pivoted on my heel, my arm raised with the wood casing squeaking under my grasp, I stopped. Froze. Catching my reflection in the glass window and immediately gaining control over myself. I lowered the case, holding it out in front of me and wondering to myself why it was even here in the first place when everything else wasn't.

I ran a hand over my face, a whole new exhaustion taking over me before I sat down on the bed, staring at the case before removing my hand from my head and unlatching it. "There's no way you could have forgotten this," I murmured quietly to the violin inside, it's shiny surface dull. "But maybe you could have if you were in a rush to run away."

Why did she have to lie?


	58. Chapter 58: Hurt

**I'm sorry it's late, please don't die, MissAnimeMiss! Concerns aside I hope everyone is having a good year so far. And thank you DulcetOwl and Cocobear for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews.**

I had taken dozens of pictures of Shizuo—half of which involved him with some kind of cute or embarrassing expression while in the other half he just looked annoyed—but I'd never seen him with this kind of face. He just looked so…relaxed. Peaceful almost, though I couldn't tell because of the weird curve of his mouth: a sort of frown with a small upward curve on the ends of his lips.

Very nearly I had almost stopped getting dressed and climbed back into bed with him. But that would have been against the deal. Instead I had brushed the bangs on his forehead aside once again, his skin colder now than it was before when it was ruddy and wet with sweat and exertion, and carefully bent down, cradling his head and pressing my lips against his skin in what might be my last affectionate action with him, all the while thinking, _'I know you'll hate me, but please don't hate me forever.'_

I had several different feelings as I shouldered my stuffed backpack: sadness, a feeling of extreme regret, second-thoughts…a lot of soreness in my pelvis area. But mainly hatred for myself, and for that bastard Izaya, and for my dumbass brother (though it was technically my fault for dragging him into something that didn't have anything to do with him), but mostly myself, simply because if I had racked my brain hard enough I might have been able to come up with a solution. Although the solutions I had rattling around in my brain involved breaking a number of laws and would only make the situation worse.

'_How can I possibly do this to him?'_ I asked myself, looking over my shoulder at his still slightly flushed face half-smudged against the pillow as he lay on his stomach, his outstretched arm lying where I used to be (and should still be if I wasn't such a manipulable worrywart). I had to wait an hour just to make sure he was sound asleep before slipping out under his arm and grabbing the bag I had stuffed under the bed, all the while waiting in turmoil over whether I should or not.

"I'm so sorry, Shizuo," I told his unconscious self, getting no response from him other than the slow intake and exhale of breath. Slowly, quietly, I placed my key on top of the dresser and slipped out the bedroom door, pausing a moment to stare at the shaved, yellow cat staring up at me, his little head cocked quizzically to the side. I crouched down—a bad move since my lower back hurt a bit—and patted the top of his head, his nose bumping against the palm of my hand as he sniffed and nuzzled it.

"Figures right when I'm leaving you start liking me," I whispered to him, sighing at the irony before retracting my hand and walking swiftly towards the only exit, not even taking a last look back for fear of chickening out. A small voice in the back of my mind whispered but I quickly shut it down and closed the door behind me. I didn't need my conscience telling me what I already knew, that this was all wrong, that what I was doing was wrong.

Before my foot hit the bottom of the stairs, my phone was out and I was scrolling through the few numbers listed, my thumb hovering over the confirmation button. It was practically glaring at me as I walked down the street. It's not like…Izaya would know, right? If I just left Shizuo's number unblocked?

Of course a second later that small thought was nothing more than just that.

"I didn't think it would take you so long. I mean, really Amai? Three hours to do a simple task? Was there trouble or were you just getting trying to jam in a quickie as one last memory?" came the sickly smooth voice that made my skin crawl, as if a thousand centipedes were crawling all over my body, removing, for the moment, the warm tingling feeling I had received much earlier.

I stopped short, looking beside me to find Izaya standing just outside the umbrella of light the street lamp next to us provided; his figure near invisible with the exception of his pale face and burgundy eyes—the latter of which reflected the dim light eerily. I narrowed my eyes at him irritated that _he_ was the one complaining.

"You asked for specific results and I gave them, are we really going to nitpick about the process?" I replied bitterly.

"If you had such a problem with this you can always go back now and hope he hasn't woken up yet," he retorted, knowing full well that I was in too deep to retract my steps.

"How can I live knowing I could have helped? I'm not that cruel," I said, hiking my bag up further on my back so that it was no longer slipping. "But you're the one who'll make _him_ think I am," I continued, looking back over my shoulder at the third window from the right on the second floor of the small apartment building I had come to know and love

He smirked, mocking me as he said, "Is this the part where I feel bad for all I've done and get your brother off of my own free will? Because you'd be naïve in thinking that, Amai-chan."

"Oh believe you me, Izaya, I don't expect you to do anything nice for anyone but yourself," I replied, equally harsh.

"Do you hate me, Amai-chan? Do you want to stomp your feet and deny my existence?" he asked with a laugh, making me sound like an immature child when in reality I was just a short, immature adult.

I glared at him, "My Mom said never to deny your enemy's existence. Just make him pay for it."

He smirked, any hint of laughter appearing only in the menacing glint in his eyes. "What frightening words. So you intend to carry on your mother's morality? Make her proud so to speak?"

"She wouldn't be proud of the choice I made. She'd understand it, but she'd be disappointed," I answered, turning my head away from him as I remembered the extreme disappointment she had had when she first learned that Uncle Kashi had been arrested for arson. Her main reason being that he had succumbed to his sickness in a most unbeneficial way. In a way Dad was right, he had broken her heart, just not in a familial way.

"One would think that the former Yakuza boss would be ecstatic to learn that their skills of deception had been passed on successfully."

My head snapped in his direction, as if I had been slapped. My eyes stared at him hard, nearly glaring a hole in his smiling face as I said tightly, "Deception?! My Mother never lied once in her life. And I'd thank you to not assume how she would feel in front of me ever again." Briefly my phone buzzed, but I paid it no mind, far too interested in threatening the man before me. Besides, I had a vague feeling in the form of a tingle on the back of my head that I knew who it was. "I did what you said, now do what you promised," I commanded more than eager to leave this area and more still when I heard a faint crash, like a car hitting a wooden wall.

"Of course, a deal's a deal. Thanks for the hard work," he said snidely in that smooth way of his as he took out his phone and started dialing a random number.

"Tá tú an diabhal," (You're the devil) I said.

"And you're the woman who made a deal with him," he replied, chuckling before he started talking to someone on the end of the line. Another soft crash sounded behind me and I turned briefly to look at the dark apartment window and the several lights around it that flickered briefly. "I trust you know which station you're brother's being held at. Better hurry along or there'll be a fight on your hands," he told me, stepping further into the darkness while I took his advice, all the while muttering that I had one regardless of what time it happened.

"Lobhadh sa Ifreann go mbainfidh tú a chruthú sa deireadh," (Rot in the Hell you'll eventually create,) I replied curtly, practically jogging as I walked away from him, taking several side streets and a few main roads, like I was trying to get rid of him though he did not follow me. When I had put some distance between that area and myself, I stopped, taking more deep breaths and pressing my fingers to my eyes, the dull stinging sensation disappearing a bit. I won't dare cry over this. Not over something like this.

Of course that didn't mean my chest couldn't hurt and my head couldn't feel this airy and sick. So much so that I couldn't even begin to remember which street I needed, much less the address. "Focus…come on, FOCUS!" I shouted, slapping my head and squeezing my eyes shut, ignoring the stares of the few people around. My fingers curled over the rim of my hat, pulling it down lower on my forehead. "Come on…come on...comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon. _Come on!_" I repeated over and over again.

I was so close to breaking that when my cell rang and I picked it up, I nearly thanked the person on the other end. "Hello? Who is this?" I asked, realizing I had neglected to check the caller ID before answering.

"_Ikebukuro Police. This is Tachibana Amai, correct?"_ the man asked.

"Yeah. What the hell do ya want?"

"_Yeah, you're his sister alright,_" he mumbled under his breath before continuing. _"We need you to come down to the station your brother is currently being held at and pick him up. There's also some papers you need to sign before he's released into your custody,"_ he explained while sighing profusely. Given the time of night it was understandable.

"He's being released?" Already?

"_I'm not at liberty to discuss the ongoing case, so all I'll say is that new evidence has come into play, none of which point to your brother as the current suspect. I'll explain what this means when you come down to the station, Tachibana-san."_

I paused, confused on why I had to come down and pick him up at this time of night. "Right now? It's kind of late, isn't it?" I asked, wanting to make sure.

"_It's better if he goes home now. No offense, but your brother's a real pain in the ass."_

If there was one single good thing I could—and would ever—say about Izaya, it was that he worked fast and efficiently (though ironically it was also the same thing that made him slightly more detestable).

_DRRR!_

It didn't take long to get to the station (given that I was about a mile off), but what took up time was the extensive amount of paperwork both the officer manning the front desk and I had to do. On my part it was just reading the release waiver and custody forms to make sure I didn't break any rules—although the rules I followed in accordance to contracts and the like came from my big brothers who had told me explicitly to "Get it in writing" and "always read before you sign anything". Both of which had been used against me when I was little and my big brothers were still jerks (excluding Colm since he knew better).

"Alright kid, just because we're letting you out doesn't mean you're innocent," the portly officer said as he led my brother out to the main room of the station where I sat waiting, grabbing my attention away from the clipboard lying on my lap.

"Doesn't the fact that I'm being released mean that I am?" Carney asked him cheekily, smirking lightly at how his face became blotchy and red. "Why am I being sprung anyway? Or am I on bail?"

"If I had enough cash for bail I'd have gotten my own apartment by now," I called to him, directing his attention to me, the smile on his face slipping a bit in confusion before brightening up in delight. "Anyway, it's to my understanding that you're not the one they're looking for anymore, so you're no longer a suspect. Right?" I asked wanting to make it crystal clear and make sure I wasn't getting screwed over.

"Yeah, that's the gist of it. Be grateful that your free to walk around with no jail time, got it brat?!" the man said exuberantly, stressing the "importance" of my brother's "gratitude". For a cop working the grave-yard shift he sure was energetic—unlike the man who had called me and was now begrudgingly setting aside a near empty coffee cup as he stood up and walked over to me, taking from my hands the thin amount of papers stacked, and signed, neatly on the clipboard.

Carney scoffed, scowling at him before he spat, "No jail time? Please. I've been in the slammer before." I wasn't sure if he was saying this to prove the old man wrong or to puff up his pride, but either way I still felt the need to dispel that fantasy.

"No you haven't."

Carney looked over at me in mild confusion—and slight insult—once again, like I should have remembered something that important. "Yes I have, remember? That time when I was fourteen?"

I stared at him, just stared as I said in an incredulous tone, "That was a scare straight program Dad put you in that Yuki's Mom sponsored so delinquent brats like you wouldn't fall into a life a crime!"

"Still counts," he mumbled, pouting pathetically. As if such a face would sway my memory.

"It does not," I retorted, standing up and stretching my back, wincing as the soreness in my tailbone flared a bit.

"It does too." He replied again to the contrary.

"Does not," I replied more curtly then before, taking my hands off my hips and practically glaring holes into him.

"_Does. Too,_" he repeated equally harsh.

"_Does. Not._"

By this time we were nearly a foot away from each other, each of us glaring at each and each of us unwilling to back down from the other. Meanwhile in the background, the two policemen stared at us as if we were crazy—which we probably were. "Why do you have a backpack?" Carney suddenly asked me, ignoring the stare down and the small argument he was previously invested in before seeing something that was insignificant at the most in his eyes. At most it was probably a distraction on his part since he was fighting in an already lost battle.

The snarl on my face dimmed to a mild grimace as I said made one simple request. "Don't ask stupid questions." He didn't say anything to me beyond that (maybe because what I said didn't make sense), he only turned back to the tired policeman and asked for his stuff back. After some difficulty getting them to hand over his sword—of which their argument consisted of something along the lines of "dangerous weapon" and "still a suspect" and of course "you could harm yourself"—we were allowed to go home. Home for me being the fluffy futon I had stuffed inside Taka-chan's closet and a black-and-white cat that liked to sleep on my face, and home for Carney being the couch since I had, "unintentionally", told Setsuko about the arrest (seeing as she had been conveniently out of the area at the time of Carney's short introduction to incarceration.

Either way both of our beds were empty tonight and they were emptied because of our own choices. However, we differed in one respect. While Carney would undoubtedly be forgiven in the near future (given the depth of Setsuko's kind heart), I knew that the choice I had made would land me a place in Shizuo's heart. A special place reserved solely for someone who had betrayed his love and his trust; someone in which he would never forgive.

_DRRR!_

There are times in life when one has to take advice from either the wisest of men, or the foolish of fools. I knew several experienced people and a few wise individuals, yet it was the fool I turned to for a shoulder to cry on. Why? Well, at the time when I was lying awake this morning, having just gotten off the hook for work this morning and tonight, I had the urge to seek advice from someone somewhat knowledgeable in this area. Unable to turn to the wise man—the wise man in this case being Taka-chan since (according to a certain loose-lipped colleague) he held a thorough knowledge of a man's broken heart and the reason being that he might kill me—I instead turned to the fool—the guy who held a considerable amount of broken hearts under his belt.

Why did I turn to my brother? Unlike Taka-chan, my brother had a sort of "doctor-patient" confidentiality personality trait and would understand my predicament a bit more than Taka-chan could.

"You're a moron."

Or so I had hoped.

I sighed, "Kichiro—"

"No Amai!" he interrupted, pointing at me the rounded tip of the baby bottle he had (stupidly) pulled from his son's mouth, causing the infant to wail while he continued on his rant. "You are going to sit there and listen. You are a moron for two reasons. One: you should have let me handle Carney's case. And two: you should have picked your love life over your brother. Because, Amai, when are you ever going to find another guy that puts up with all your bullshit?"

Currently I was seated next to Kichiro on the couch in his girlfriend's (lover's, baby's mama or whatever he wanted to call her in their screwed-up relationship) apartment. The apartment was decently sized and the set-up was sparse, what with Misako being gone several months at a time when she traveled, yet littered with various doodads and whatsits made specifically for the ilk of the squirming creature in my brother's lap. He placed the nipple part of the bottle back in Gavin's mouth and the crying infant went back to his quiet suckling, his moment of displeasure over and quickly forgotten.

"You know how I am, Kichiro. I'll always be there for you guys. No matter how big a pain in the neck you all are," I replied, leaning back in my seat and staring up at the ceiling, a baby rattle twirling noisily in between in my fingers.

"Then I beg you to be selfish for once if our own shitty problems get in the way," he said, putting the bottle down on the table in front of us when Gavin pushed it away and started squirming again. "It's not too late, right? To make up some lie that explains why you left."

I sighed again, dragging one hand over my face. I wish it were that simple. "I was two blocks away from his apartment when he found out yet it felt like I was in the same room. Not to mention that I left my key there and took all my stuff. I'm royally screwed no matter which way I go."

"Yeah, sounds like it," he mused, cradling Gavin over his shoulder and patting his back repeatedly. While I had always thought of my brother as a…well, idiotic womanizing playboy, I had to hand it to him that he had picked up the basics of childcare quickly and rather well. "Anyway, since you're massively screwed, why don't you stay here for a while?"

"Kichiro, I've already told you that I'm not going to be a live-in babysitter," I growled at him, flinching when he held the baby up in front of me by his armpits, his unnaturally large eyes blinking innocently at me as I wavered under the innocent gaze. As if it weren't enough that I already felt terrible about leaving Shizuo like that, this kid had to go and remind me of the possible future I could have had with him.

"That's not what I meant in the slightest," Kichiro protested hotly, practically shoving Gavin onto me and making him cry as he stood up, but made no other movement besides tilting his head up to look at the ceiling and putting his hands on his hips. Then he spoke, "but now that you mention it, Misako and I could use an extra hand around here, especially since I have to work this week and since Misako is still fairly new at this."

"_Kichiro_—"

"Amai, I _promise_ I will pay you this time," he interrupted, turning on his heels and putting his hands together in a near-silent plea.

"Kichiro—"

"_And_ food and board will be free," he continued, his bargaining chip getting bigger and bigger.

I'll admit, it was enticing. "…Kichiro—"

"Hold that thought, we'll discuss it more once I get off the can," he interrupted quickly, disappearing from my line of vision as he made for the bathroom, leaving me his whimpering bundle of joy to keep me company.

"Nice negotiation tactic," I muttered, holding the baby close to me as I stood up and started bouncing him in a futile gesture of calming him down. "Shh shh. Come on, hush now," I pleaded quietly, pacing slowly as he continued to wail, seeming to cry even louder as some asshole in the floor below us knocked rudely on his ceiling. _'How'd that lullaby go…?'_

"…Too…Too-ra loo-ra…" I began slowly, trying to remember the lullaby Dad had taught to Mom that she had sung rather clumsily when we had fussed as children. "Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra, Too-ra loo-ra li, Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra, hush now don't you cry~"

"Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra, too-ra loo-ra li, Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra, that's an Irish lul-la-by. Oh I can hear that music. I can hear that song. Filling me with memories, Of a mother's love so strong. Its melody still haunts me, These many years gone by. Too-ra loo-ra loo-ra—"

"Until the day I die~" Kichiro sang, his tenor cutting into my mezzo-soprano. "Haven't heard that tune in years," he said wistfully stepping out into the living room while zipping up his fly.

"Haven't sang it in a while either," I agreed, humming the melody as Gavin clutched my hair like a security blanket. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, Kichiro," I told him rubbing my cheek against his soft head gingerly.

"Please tell me it's 'cause you care for your nephew and not because you need a hideout from your now ex-boyfriend," Kichiro asked as he sat down on the couch, although he already knew the answer.

"He'll want to know why and I can't provide that knowledge or that bastard will go back on the deal," I answered bitterly glancing out the window at the noonday sun and the surrounding buildings. "As good a lawyer as you think you are, the evidence speaks for itself. I have a feeling this guy has some kind of pull and I don't want to tempt any backlash," I murmured, hugging Gavin closer to me, protectively.

Kichiro went silent for awhile, going between watching some sports game on the TV against the wall and studying me as I continued humming. It was only after the tenth verse that he spoke up, my resulting reaction being…less than desired. "Oh hey, didn't you use to play this on your violin? You should play for Gavin next time he starts crying," he said off-handedly.

I hummed in response, thinking back to my cherry-stained instrument and immediately going pale when I realized something massively important: I didn't remember packing it. Hell, I didn't even remember seeing it at all last night. The only memory I had of it was that it was still inside that fucking closet.

"Oh my God," I whispered, turning back towards Kichiro and carefully transferring the sleepy infant into his fumbling arms. "Here, take him. Take him, take him, take him, take him, take him!" I said hurriedly before rushing towards the door, Kichiro's somewhat panicked shout mixed with Gavin's starting whimpers following me out.

"Wait, where are you going? Amai? Amai! You cannot leave me here alone!" If I remember correctly, he was the one who told me to be a little selfish sometimes, and where was the harm in letting him learn how to quiet his son without Misako and mine's assistance?

_DRRR!_

For the moment I thought three things while I (once again) broke into Shizuo's apartment: one, the fact that it was weird that I was sneaking in to get my stuff when I had already done so yesterday. Two: the irony that—given a normal situation with two different people—I was sneaking in to get my stuff while my (former) significant other was at work—a task that had been (again, rather ironically and unluckily) done to me. Although the dumb bastard, surprisingly, had the decency to leave a note for me explaining why he was dumping me (no matter how insulting it was). And three: if that guy was a decent bastard, then what the hell did that make me?

"If I had to guess I'd say a praying mantis," I murmured to myself, turning the tumblers in the system as I listened for the familiar clicks. "Or maybe a black widow. Or a…something else that devours their mate," I finished lamely, hanging my head as I contemplated the sanity behind my decision to break into his apartment. On some level this must have been crossing some kind of line. Then again, it was a violin I've cherished since I was a child.

Beside me I heard a door open and close and light footsteps run pass behind me, my name thrown haphazardly by two small children as they ran down the stairs leading to the pavement. "Hi Tachibana-san," came the voice of their father, Shizuo's neighbor, and the only person in this complex I actually got along well with—well in this context meaning small conversation whenever we passed each other by.

"Hi Nakamura-san," I replied distractedly as I continued working, "taking the kids to the park or something?"

"Ice cream parlor, been begging me all week. So…what the hell happened last night?" he started, ignoring his children for the moment as they shouted up at him from the parking lot.

"We broke up," I sighed. I was not in the mood for this, but for the sake of gaining an additional tally on the list of people who liked me I endured anyway.

"Yeah, I thought as much," he remarked, looking down over the railing and waving to his small children, who were, most likely, pulling funny faces at him as he snorted through his nose. "Why don't you just use a key?"

"I left it here last night when I took all my stuff," I replied tartly, nearly clicking the lock open but screwing up when he asked me,

"So then, what are you doing here?"

I dropped the picks and turned on my knees to glare up at him. "Look," I said, "I am very busy right now and this requires a lot of concentration. So if you can just leave while I break in and not tell anyone…?" I trailed off on a silent plea that he kindly consider not turning me in for breaking and entering. He got the message, just not in the preferable way.

"So do you want me to tell Heiwajima-san that you stopped by?"

"…You're kid's birthday is next week, isn't it," I guessed, looking over the edge of the walkway and spying the older of the two boys as he grappled playfully with his smaller sibling.

"Thursday. And this time I will gladly pay you for your services."

"Chocolate or vanilla?"

"Strawberry with vanilla. Thanks Sweetie," he said lightheartedly, walking away from me and down the stairs.

I started, snarling at him, "Call me 'Sweetie' ever again and I'll kick your ass!" He didn't take my threat to heart, considering the fact that the woman he used to be married to was much more menacing, he simply waved good bye as he descended the stairs, leaving me to continue doing what I was doing. Soon after I unlocked Shizuo's door, walking inside with some trepidation as I looked around cautiously, as if he might jump me and start demanding answers.

I looked around the room with some astonishment, finding it in near perfect order, as opposed to what I had heard yesterday. However the emotion soon left my face as I pushed open the bedroom door and found, with very little shock, shards and scraps of wood littering the floor in various piles, a fallen lamp with a shattered bulb, massive holes and dents in the walls and a cat lying curled up on top of the bed. Hazelnut lifted his head to blink his eyes at me sleepily and dismissively before lowering his head again and closing his eyes, ignoring me as I picked my way over to the closet and wrenched it open, splinters of wood sticking out of the frame and the wall like a warning. I turned my eyes away from it all as I felt a pit form in my stomach and the panic that filled me as I saw that my violin was missing from its perch on the top shelf.

I felt certain that I had left it there, but as I tore through the closet the sinking feeling in my gut continued. He couldn't have…could he? No, Shizuo wasn't like that. _'He wouldn't, he knows how much it means to me,'_ I thought, pushing aside hangers and digging through the few boxes on the floor of the closet. For a moment—a brief, brief moment—I thought back to when I had told him my secret, remembering how he had tried to take it away from me, and for a moment I looked around the wood piles, seeing if there was any cherry wood sticking out.

Ridiculous. I felt ridiculous. Shizuo wasn't like that. He wouldn't do something like that. I calmed myself down with that thought and turned away from the closet and the piles of splintered wood as I stalked over to the bed and got on all fours, my cheek to the ground as I looked under the bed and reached under it blindly. When I found nothing but the things I had found there months before, I gave up, sitting with my back against the bed as I pressed the heel of my hand against my forehead as a growing ache formed there. Where the fuck was that violin?

Against my head I felt a small nudge and the swish of a tail as it batted my face. Behind me Hazelnut had moved from his position to sit down behind me. He was almost affectionate. But that wasn't the weird thing. The weird thing was that as he moved I heard something like paper crinkle. Curious, I turned, looking for whatever was making that sound and spying, with great relief the wooden case of my beloved instrument.

"You're just like your mother," I murmured to the blond cat as I got on my knees and reached past his lazy body, pulling the still warm box towards me and stroking the top of it lovingly. I opened it quickly to check the instrument inside and breathed out a second sigh of relief as I saw that it was still in the condition I had left it in. Though was there any reason to doubt? Like I had thought, Shizuo wasn't petty like that. He wouldn't ever do that. Then I remembered the paper I had heard a bit earlier. When I didn't spot it on the bed I grabbed the scruff of Hazelnut's neck and lifted him up, taking from beneath him the slip of paper he had sat on.

I wish I hadn't read the note, hell I wish I hadn't found the note, since it just made me feel ten times worse that I already felt.

_Amai,_

_I don't know whether you left this here on purpose or by accident, but since you were leaving in the dead of night you must have forgotten to take it with you. Stay. I don't care what time you came here, just stay, and tell me why you left. Tell me why you want to dump me. Tell me if I hurt you, and tell me why you lied to me._

_Tell me that you still love me._

There were a few places in the paper where he had pressed the pen too hard and had punctured the thin sheet, his anger and frustration leaking through. A few of the words magnetized for a moment before smearing and disappearing a bit in a smudge of wet ink. The effect of the few tears that had escaped my notice as I stared at the last line, my heart aching.

"…This hurts worse than you hating me," I whispered to no one but myself as I gripped my pant leg tightly. No one besides the yellow cat lying next to me, looking at me with something like concern glimmering in his large slit eyes.


	59. Chapter 59: Unfair

**Last year I was writing fluff for Shizuo's birthday and now this year I'm writing heartbreak. I'm such a mean writer~ not to mention that this chapter is a little late…I'll make it up next chapter since this one's a little slow. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy~**

I reached a hand up to wipe away the few tears that had collected and spilled over onto the upper curve of my cheek, dropping the note as I brought my other hand up to do the same. "Shit. Shit shit shit shit. _Shit!_ No! That's not fair! You can't…" I trailed off, glaring down at the note as I pressed my fingers against the ache in my forehead. I sighed, leaning forward on my knees to rest my head against the edge of the bed. "You can't make me feel worse than I already do."

A deep purr resounded beside my head, causing me to turn my cheek to the blanket as I stared at the half-fluffy cat. "Shizu-chan, I think your namesake is trying to kill me with feelings," I murmured to him despondently. He hissed in response, his ears flattening against his head and his teeth bared at me, though the look in his eye suggested annoyance rather than anger, and caused me to correct myself. Neither liked the name and yet it suited him so well.

"Sorry. Forgot you like that name "Hazelnut"," I said correcting myself begrudgingly. He stopped hissing then, going back to staring at me with very slight interest. I continued staring at him as I worked on what to do and how I should do it. For sure I couldn't tell Shizuo that it wasn't his fault, and I couldn't tell him that I was being blackmailed—and by his enemy no less.

"He trusts me too much…expecting me to stay…and tell him things I can't. He's too kind to me," I told the languid feline before me as I picked up the note from the floor, folded it, and slipped it inside my pocket. "I wish he wasn't." I stood up abruptly, removing from the bed the violin case before I turned and walked out the door. I would not stay. I could not stay. I should not stay.

And yet despite this, I desperately wanted to.

"I swear, the next time I see…no, the next time I hear that smug son-of-a-bitch," I told myself, shutting and locking the door behind me before briskly walking down the short hallway to the stairs. "I'll shove my boot so far up his smarmy little ass he'll be coughing up—"

I stopped when my phone suddenly started vibrating in my pocket. Sneering at the caller ID, I answered, snapping harshly, "What the hell do you want?"

"_What are you doing?"_Izaya asked me, no hint of amusement in his tone. Startled, I looked around, wondering where he was and why he was spying on me.

"Where are you?" I asked him, giving up a fruitless search since—for all I know—he could be in one of the many buildings with a pair of high-end binoculars or have some high-school kid tailing me.

"_Answer the question,"_ he commanded more firmly.

"Come on Orihara-san, you're not an idiot. If you can see me then I can assume you can also the violin case in my hand?" I asked him contemptuously, holding the case up high above my head for him to see—wherever he was spying from. "I left it here by accident and I came to retrieve it. And besides that, I don't have to justify any of my actions to you," I snapped at him before walking quickly down the stairs. "Why are you spying on me anyway?"

"_Just making sure you don't unravel all your hard work."_

"Go fuck yourself," I replied, my hands unconsciously tightening around the case handle and my phone as I stalked down the street.

"_Now now, no need to spoil my fun,"_ he laughed, figuratively—and most definitely literally—pouring gasoline on the fire of rage and contempt I held specifically for him.

"Your _fun_?! Screw you and your _fun_!" I stopped, whipping around to glare at the buildings around me as I snarled quietly into the phone, "You've done a lot of shit to me, but this? This is the final straw. I _will _find a way to get even with you. And even if I don't, there'll be others who'll do it for me, because you've done nothing but collect enemies."

"_Is that a threat I hear, Amai-chan?"_

"Don't be mistaken, Orihara-san, this is a promise." I snapped the phone shut, hanging up without another snide remark from him.

_DRRR!_

Like every other point in my life, I was seriously questioning my decisions. The question of the day? What on Earth was going through my mind when I decided to call upon Taka-chan about my latest relationship blunder—of course, that wasn't all I was here for, I also wanted a few make-up tips on how to hide the various hickeys and bruising nips decorating my neck. In retrospect I probably should have asked him this morning before he went to sleep and I went out in public—the result being way more unwanted attention than I needed. Not to mention that the soreness in my pelvis made for a funny walk that Kichiro had so lovingly called "the uncoordinated penguin"—the mental image being most unflattering and blown slightly out of proportion.

So here I stood, in front of Taka-chan's door, and wondering if it was too late to take back the few incessant knocks I had rung upon the door. Course, the idea of turning this into a ding-dong-ditch soon flew out the window as the door creaked open. Through the small crack I saw the unruly hair, stubble-covered face and tired eyes of my illegal roommate, Taka-chan. For a moment he stared at me through bleary eyes, obviously annoyed at the sudden wake-up call, and opened his mouth to most likely scold me for it. Although as soon as his eyes took in the rest of me his jaw slacked and his mouth closed, simply staring at the multitude of red and purple splotches that marked my neck. How he would react if he saw the rest of me was a question that would not receive an answer.

Not giving him the chance to ask any questions, I pushed the door open and swept past him to the bathroom, setting my violin down on the floor beside the sink and opening the drawer underneath. "Before you ask," I started, rummaging through the large drawer before taking out the whole damn thing and carrying it back into the living room/my bedroom/temporary guest room and dropping it onto the bed sheet strewn couch, the large black-and-white cat spitting at the intrusion to her peace despite being curled up on the backrest. "Yes, I am fine. No, these are not from any assault. Yes, that means these are hickeys. No, they do not hurt, but the purple ones are a little sore. Yes, I did have sex with Shizuo last night," I rambled, watching as he closed the door and looked at me a little cockeyed, waiting for me to finish. When I got to the part about my being with Shizuo on a more intimate level, his face immediately brightened and he opened his mouth, clearly excited to talk with me about the more private details.

Unfortunately for him I wouldn't let him get that far. "And no, I don't want to talk about," I finished with a grimace, walking over to him and pulling his girly-ass over to help me navigate through the piles of make-up set out on the couch.

He immediately pouted, his cheeks puffing out in disappointment as he cocked his hip and folded his arms over the fluffy lavender robe covering his body. "Well seesh, Amai, if you're going to say it like that, then I only have one idea of how the night went," he said, his voice masculine and delicate at the same time, yet still the same amount of bitchy.

"_Hey!_ The sex was fine—"

"Fine? That's not what you want to hear," he snickered, turning my angered red face into a blushing mess.

I fumed, trying to think of a way to defend Shizuo's first time. I liked it, I enjoyed it, but it was slightly tormenting what with the amount of hesitance he had put into his initial thrusts. It was when he eventually lost some control and showed me raw emotion that it got more interesting. Although it was equally torturing if the satisfying soreness between my legs had anything to say about it. I love Shizuo at his best and at his worst, and whichever was the side that held his unbridled emotion and astronomical strength was a side I favored. Yet for the life of me I couldn't put these into proper words with my stupid mouth.

"Shut up! I'll bet you a hundred million Yen that your first time wasn't all fireworks and shit." Especially since my own first time was through an unfortunate horse-riding accident and to the amusement of half my family as they laughed at me.

He stared at me like I was crazy before he slowly nodded in what I hoped was understanding. "Alright, I think I can get on board with that. Especially since, as the saying goes, 'practice makes perfect'." He smiled practically giddy at the idea as he stooped down beside me to pick out a few key cosmetics and a little pouch containing various sized brushes, finally getting to the reason why I needed him. "So when are you two going to do it again?" he asked conversationally, looking at the labels on a few bottles before stooping again. He nearly dropped the tubes in his hand when I curtly replied,

"Never. I broke up with him."

He paused after regaining his fumbled product, staring down at the cluttered box with an expression I couldn't make heads or tails of before he straightened his back and turned to me with a large, way too innocent smile that practically screamed 'this is a trap'. "…I'm sorry; I think I went a bit insane for a moment. You didn't just say that you broke up with him, did you?" he asked me, his mask not giving me any leeway for what he truly was feeling. "Because…Amai…if you did, then I'm fully entitled to slap some sense into you. Do you have any idea what kind of post-apocalyptic war zone the dating pool is? You're not properly equipped to handle something like that, so please confirm what I know you _didn't_ say."

I bit my lip, debating whether or not I should go along with his self-described fit of insanity. But since he would see right through me, I decided to cut out the middleman and rose my arms protectively as I hesitantly replied, "I broke up with him after we slept together and simply because I needed my violin, I went back while he wasn't there." All the while I was gauging his reaction, finding that—while the creepy smile was gone—an abnormal calmness had taken center stage as he simply listened to what I said. Determining the current situation to be stable enough, I slowly lowered my arms and took out from my pocket the note Shizuo had left me. "He left this for me, but I couldn't follow the directions." I handed it to him, waiting nervously as he unfolded it, read it a few times, and refolded it, all with a grim expression on his face, still completely calm.

That is, until he handed me the note back and caught me totally off guard as he started yelling and slapping my out stretched arms as I held them up defensively.

"_How! Could! You! Do! This! To! Someone! I'm! Just! Now! Realizing! Is! Probably! Nice?!_" he yelled at me, each word punctuated with a harsh slap to my arm.

"Yes! I slept with a nice, misunderstood man and then I ran out on him, and just to pour more salt in the wound, I went back for my violin and pretty much ignored his one simple request!" I yelled back, trying to make a grab for his hands as he continued to wail on me. "I'm a horrible, horrible person! But no amount of you hitting me is going to change that fact!" I had finally captured his flailing hands and his attention—however glare-ridden it may be—and there was no stopping me from running my mouth now. "No amount of anything I do is going to change the fact that I hurt him! That I betrayed him! Nothing is going to change that!"

Taka-chan's lip curled in a snarl as he tore his hands away from mine and grabbed my arm, towing me over to the door. "The hell it's not! You are going over there right now! Bring a book or a DVD or baking ingredients, whatever to pass the time! Just go back and wait for him and get this mess sorted out," he instructed, his male voice losing all touches of delicacy.

I pulled against him, shaking his hand off and balling my hands into fists as I said to him, "Don't you get it? _I CAN'T!_" I screamed, causing him to flinch at the volume and turn to me in surprise, concern and slight fear. I continued, much more controlled than before. "As much as I want to I can't, and it's because of that reason that I can't!"

"What reason?"

I paused, stunned at the new voice that had just entered the fray. I looked past Taka-chan—who had also been taken aback by the sudden voice—and spotted the younger of my violent twin brothers standing in the open doorway and staring at us (more specifically me).

I swallowed thickly, my hands loosening as I asked him loud and clear, "Why aren't you in Shinjuku with Setsuko-chan?"

"I nearly got into a fight with a senior who was staring at all the wrong places, so Setsuko blackmailed me into going home," he replied with some level of bitterness as he kicked the door closed behind him, intruding into a room that must have dropped ten degrees in the last few minutes. "Apparently sex can be used as a weapon and apparently Setsuko has more backbone than I thought since she practically screamed it throughout the building we were in. If only she were that vocal where it counted," he murmured disappointedly.

"Learn to reign in your jealousy a bit and you won't find surprises like that often," I replied with a small snicker, hoping to take his attention away from what he had walked into. "So how are you going to make it up to her?"

"I'll make it up by telling her about the dirty little secret my dear onee-chan is trying to hide. That is, if my dear onee-chan will stop trying to distract me," Carney answered antagonistically while leaning against the door, effectively blocking the only viable exit. "So, shall we get down to it? What exactly are you guys talking about and what's this reason that seems to be so damned important?" he asked looking between the two of us.

"Tell me what part you came in at and maybe I'll be inclined to explain myself eventually."

"Amai, you might have some schooling in psychology, but you're ten years too early to play mind games with the king," he said deadpan, making me snarl in response.

"Just answer the question. It'll make explaining a whole lot easier." Not to mention I could omit certain truths if he heard only a little.

"Around the time you were yelling. Or maybe it was the time Okama-san was saying you should go stay somewhere. Oh, no, wait, I think it was around the moment that you were saying you are a horrible, horrible person—something that's only half true, by the way," he answered, smirking lightly. "But all things point to the fact that I have no clue as to what you two are yelling about and that I want to know why."

What do I do? Do I let him in on the secret or do I let him wallow in frustration and bug me until I gave in anyway?

It'd be easier to choose the former since when Carney was annoying he was, well, annoying. But since I had done something terrible for him, I knew he wouldn't appreciate my sacrifice, nor understand it since he had the tendency to beat up the people who tried to blackmail him—most cases involving a hostage (namely Setsuko) and mal intent—but that was high school, so I can only assume how different it is now.

Marginally at best is my best guess since he was stuck in his ways.

"I don't need to justify my actions to anyone but me. So both of you can screw off," I replied harshly, turning my back on them both as I went to grab my jacket from the rack in the far corner of the room. ""Family is family and business is business," right? This is just business between them and me and no one else." I pulled the jacket on, tugging the collar tight around my neck to hide what my shoulder length hair couldn't—if only I had foreseen this months earlier, then I could have staved off getting a haircut.

I just wanted to leave. I don't care about why I was here in the first place—how to hide a hickey? Just for a good talking to? To vent?—I just needed to be alone right now. Though that idea seemed somewhat impossible since Carney was blocking the door and didn't seem to have any intention of moving, even as I stood in front of him and waited far too patiently for my liking.

"Are you going to move?"

"No. What, you're not going to tell me just because it's a secret?"

"Yeah, that's the gist of it. Now I'm going to ask you one more time to move."

"Yeah, fat chance of that happening."

I glared up at his tanned face, wishing more than once that I could just punch him, but fights with Carney always tended to end in a draw. I sighed, leaning back on my heels as I regarded him seriously. "Fine, I'll tell you. Just let me put away the drawer first," I said, turning away from him towards the couch. He gave a murmur of agreement while I walked past a stunningly silent Taka-chan and grabbed the box of make-up, hefting the heavy thing up and walking towards the bathroom. I kicked the door closed behind me and slid the drawer back in its slot, leaving it out and effectively jamming the door should anyone try to open it.

There was no point in locking it since, like me, Carney had learned the finer points of lock-picking from our big brother, Patrick. It was smarter to block it and stall them while I escaped out the window. It wouldn't be the first time I had done so and— rather ironically and annoyingly—this escape served as both the beginning and end of one of Izaya's schemes. Hopefully, like last time, there would be a big, life-changing talk at some point latter on and about six months of bliss before some other shit happened. And honestly, I'd be okay with that, as long as…

"As long as you still love me," I whispered, grabbing my violin case from where I had left it and silently pulling up the window. Carefully I straddled the windowsill and, after gripping the handle of the violin case tightly in between my teeth, slipped outside, hanging onto the rain gutter as I slipped down to the ground three stories below me.

Carney's POV~

"Amai~ Amai! You've been in there for ten minutes! Are you okay?" the okama guy called, concerned as he knocked hesitantly on the door.

I sighed while pushing myself off the door, leisurely crossing over to the couch and sitting down on the messy sheets beside a large cat stretched out along the back. "Leave her be, she's probably trying to hide those hickeys on her own," I said, Amai's mother cat purring in my ear as I scratched her ear. He stopped trying to get her to come out, but he didn't drop the worried look on his face. "So what was the reason she was talking about before?" I asked him.

He turned to me with a sour look on his face and replied snidely, "I wouldn't know, a certain _someone_ decided to barge in before I could ask."

"Oh, like that's my fault."

"_It is your fault!_" he shouted, making me glance up at him sullenly.

"Hey, if Setsuko hadn't sent me home then I wouldn't have interrupted," I reasoned, propping my feet up on the coffee table and folding my arms behind my head lazily.

"If you could control your jealousy like your sister said, then your girlfriend wouldn't have embarrassed herself sending you here."

I scowled, damning Amai for her big mouth and my own volunteering of that information. "Whatever. Look, I know Amai and I know for a fact that whatever reason she's hiding, she's going to fight to keep it hidden. She's stubborn that way. So ignoring the reason part, what did she do to make you so pissed off?" I asked him.

He reacted violently to the question, yelling loudly and angrily, "She broke up with him! That bitch broke up with him in the most unforgiving way!" I stared at him, unsure of what he meant. Unforgiving? I wonder what way that was.

"With the bartender? Why would she do that? They suit each other so well," I asked him confused, earning a confused look in return before it evolved into a look of annoyance. Most likely the confusion was due to the fact that I had tried to carve the guy up like a jack-o-lantern, but I wasn't so blind as to see that Amai clearly loved the guy for a reason that was beyond me.

"Hell if I know. Like I said, you came in before I could ask her," he replied curtly, turning his nose away in derision as he looked back at the bathroom door. "Amai! Get your ass out here! I'm not finished yelling at you yet!" he shouted again, slapping the door harshly with his hand.

This didn't make sense. She seemed pretty into him a couple days ago, considering how she dragged me outside to kick some flirty chick's ass. What a weird night that was. "So this was yesterday?" I asked.

"Yeah. She slept with him and then she walked out on him. What a terrible way to leave someone," he muttered, pouting at nothing while I mulled over the facts. Yesterday I was arrested. And yesterday Amai slept with Shizuo. Then less than twenty-four hours later I was released with some poor bastard taking my place as the fall-guy (not that I cared much) and Amai breaks it off with someone she apparently loves. It all felt wrong.

I ran to the door, shoving the guy out of the way and hitting the door harshly. When I received no answer, I tried the handle, turning it easily and pushing the door open, only to be stopped when it hit something solid. "Fuck! She jammed the door and escaped out the window!" I yelled, kicking the door out of frustration and earning a squeak of disapproval from the man in the fluffy purple robe. "That bitch has probably been gone this entire time!"

"What is with your family and kicking my doors?! What have they ever done to you?!" he asked me, though I didn't really care at all about what he was saying, I was too invested in what the hell was going through my sister's mind.

"_Shut up!_ I need a minute to think," I told him, ignoring his snarling face as I thought of what had probably gone down. Amai breaks up with the bartender in a cruel way, and I get a get-out-of-jail-free card the same night. If Amai had wanted me out of jail, then the smart thing would have been to leave it to Kichiro nii-san. If she was an idiot, she would have ignored the system and tried to get me out herself. Though considering how deep she was in with the guy, that doesn't seem likely; adding to the fact that she wasn't a fan of getting jailed.

"There's a connection, I just have to find it," I muttered to myself. The effeminate man beside me overheard my words and asked me what I meant, a still annoyed expression on his face. "I get out of jail and Amai breaks it off? I don't believe in coincidences. Never have, never will. So it's obvious, isn't it?!"

He looked confused, wondering what the hell I meant until the meaning became clear. "You think someone made her do it."

"It's the only thing that makes sense. Breaking me out of prison without legal help is stupid, and Amai doesn't do stupid shit if it's a serious situation. At least, not if she had smart help to pull it off."

"So then…who was the smart help?"

I smirked, glad that he was following my train of thought. "That's the question, isn't it?" I said, reaching into my pocket and taking out my cell. "So, what I need to do is find out who called Amai last," I continued, dialing my twin's number and waiting patiently for him to pick up.

"Are you calling her to ask? I don't think she'll tell you."

"Nope, I'm going above her head to Kazuhiro. He bugged her phone a few years ago. Waste of time until now since her conversations were boring. But he should be able to find out who her latest calls were," I replied.

"What are you going to do once you find out?" he asked me, sounding as nervous as he should be and looking at me worriedly as I smiled innocently and answered his question, the continued beeping from the phone sounding in my ear.

"I'm just going to have a little chat with them of course," I replied. As if that's all I had planned for the guy who had potentially ruined my sister's love life. It'd be unfair to Amai if I couldn't repay the unnecessary favor she did for me, especially in the small amount of time I had left in this city.

_DRRR!_

Amai's POV~

My one wish for peace and quiet for a couple hours turned into me giving a small concert in the park nearest to Misako's apartment over the last couple days. It started out innocently with me being completely bored out of my freaking skull, yet not wanting to listen to my big brother talk or my baby nephew fuss directly after escaping my nosy roommate and younger brother, and taking out my violin and retuning it after missing days of practice. Soon after I ended up taking requests from the few people around and discovering a fairly simple way of making money—though it was short-lived each day when I noticed "the time". "The time" in this case being the two cops that slowly make their way through the large group of people that form around me to reprimand my "disruption of the peace" or some such nonsense. How could anyone call the violin a "disruption of the peace"?!

Now that I think about it, Shizuo had once asked me what was so damn special about my violin, and I had told him that it was the variety of emotions that it could play. If I remember correctly he fell asleep once during a performance, and though it was a slow, peaceful song and I really couldn't blame him since it was late at night at the time, I gave him the cold shoulder for it. Though it didn't last long since he found it annoying and I liked the way he complained and asked me to play the song again. His pouting face was adorable and I ended up ignoring what he said in exchange for taking a picture of the cute expression.

"_God!_ Pull yourself together Amai! It hasn't even been a week yet and you're already reminiscing!" I yelled at myself before a sudden realization overtook my mind. "Oh my God, I'm getting soft!"

"Yeah. Gotta admit, it's not that great a look on you," Kichiro added in through a mouthful of egg, bacon, and English muffin sandwich, "What are you thinking about anyway?"

"Amai's not soft. Given how she tore out his heart, maybe she's thinking about doing it again," Misako interjected bitterly, upturned nose turned away from my direction as she spoke. Obviously Misako didn't like the fact that I had "willfully" and maliciously torn apart Shizuo's heart and destroyed one of his most important interpersonal relationships. Though the true meaning of this didn't occur to me until Misako came home and pretty much tore me a new one when Kichiro—quite stupidly—told her what happened. And given that she was on friendly terms with the Heiwajima brothers, she did not take it well.

I was his first kiss—however unintentional it was and however funny it may have been to the kids. I was his first girlfriend—however sour the beginning of the relationship was. I was the first person he ever made love to. Not to mention I was the first person to ever cause him heartbreak. God, Misako must hate my guts.

"If it makes you feel better, I'm not feeling so great either," I murmured, nibbling pathetically on a piece of burnt toast as I leaned my head against my hand.

She huffed, her face still turned away as she spat out bitterly, "Good for you, but because of your trick, he's more irritated than usual."

"Remind me why I should care about the deadbeats who can't pay back their loans?"

"Because it causes more trouble for him when there's property damage."

"Then maybe the deadbeats shouldn't be so annoying."

"Maybe you shouldn't have broken up with him."

By this time she had finally faced me and given me a glare I had seen her only direct at people who pissed her off to a monumental degree, and Kichiro. Her tongue was sharp, her anger was justified, and her temper was scary. So much so in fact that I felt somewhat threatened and unconsciously glared back at her, creating a silent and uncomfortable atmosphere that seemed to frighten the males seated with us.

The silence went on for some time until Kichiro cleared his throat nervously and said loud and clear in a slightly jovial tone, "Well, since Gavin stopped feeding and is now looking as freaked out as I am, I'm just going to go put him back in his crib and hide for a little while." With that he stood and retrieved the perturbed baby from Misako's arms, retreating, rather great fully into his room, the door shutting quickly and quietly. There was no talking after the door closed and nearly no sound besides the slight rustling of clothing as Misako repositioned her bra and buttoned up her shirt.

"Do you still promise not to tell him?" I asked her, breaking the silence.

"Only because I believe in karmic balance and that you'll get yours someday. It'd be unfair if you don't," she replied snidely, a few wedges of an orange disappearing into her mouth. "Not to mention that Kichiro-kun swore me to secrecy," she continued, her mouth stuffed with the juicy fruit. I could almost see how Gavin would someday eat and talk given the examples he'd be following.

"Good, then we're on the same page."

"How?"

"Because I believe in karma, too, and I hope whole-heartedly that it happens in the cruelest way possible," I told her honestly, swallowing the last of my breakfast before I stood and grabbed my jacket. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a birthday cake to make and deliver to my…ex's neighbor. Lord knows how that'll turn out."


	60. Chapter 60: Don't Tell Me Lies

As it was I had a decent amount of crap on my plate, what with my recent impromptu breakup, almost everyone I know telling me I was an idiot—of which I agreed—and spending every waking hour avoiding every route or place I was bound to run into Shizuo—which was stressful since he and his boss frequently cut through Sunshine 60 and I worked at a bakery in that general area. So really I shouldn't have been adding anything else that would give me trouble, but to be fair it was his gang that was bringing it to me and it was he that chose to come here on his lunch break. I had a family of former and current angsty teenagers, why the hell did I have to deal with a non-blood related one? Then again, when he had a face that brought out the caring big sister in me and kept asking for curry bread, it was hard to tell him to scram. Although that courtesy didn't extend to using anything in the store as a chair.

"For the last time, get the hell off the counter! This isn't for teenage butts, it's for food and money. Who the hell knows where your ass has been," I told Masaomi as I munched on a chocolate chip and oatmeal cookie, blatantly ignoring the fact that I was doing the same as I waited for customers to enter the small shop. Somewhere in the back I heard metal bowls clanging and the discrete muttering of Miss Yuumi as she fought to teach her daughter the basics of baking. Business-wise Kyoko was brilliant, her years of being a secretary and soaking up—what I call—the corporate know-how from her former bosses being nothing short of an advantage in keeping the bakery in business. As for baking, it was sad to say that she had inherited nothing from her mother's skillful hands. It made me wonder Miss Yuumi's son was the same way, but from the few times I had met him, he seemed overall uninterested in burning his mother's kitchen down—his words, not mine.

I'd go see how the lesson was going, and check on the strawberry cake I had baking in one of the ovens, but since I valued not getting hit on the head with a rolled-up newspaper like a dog for disturbing their 'quality time', I dared not.

"Come on, Amai. You know how I like eating my meals with girls," Masaomi said in his usual cheerful attitude, stuffing another large bite of bread and curry into his mouth.

"Then why don't you go find one your own age to hit on?" I asked him offhandedly, brushing the crumbly remains of my treat off my hands and lap and watching the people walk by outside the large glass window. It was hard to believe that nine months had gone by so quickly since it was broken into several thousand little pieces. Actually, now that I thought about it, it still pissed me off.

"And leave you all alone when your single and vulnerable?" he asked, wriggling his eyebrows comically and mischievously. I smiled at the expression, but couldn't manage a laugh—pity or otherwise at the crude joke. "But seriously, you don't look all that broken up about it. How long were you together anyway?" he asked me, losing the smile altogether and regarding me seriously.

I cracked a small smile, saying dryly "A whole six months, give or take a couple days. New personal record—though I was hoping for longer." I reached behind us and pulled open the glass counter's door, reaching inside and snagging another cookie with the tips of my fingers. "What about you, Masaomi? How's your love life going?"

"Who needs a relationship when I can hang out with all the ladies I want?" he cried happily, his eyes screwed shut by the wide smile on his face, unable to convey what he was actually thinking.

"Cut the crap, Masaomi, I've known you long enough to see past the façade. Tell me how you really feel."

The smile dropped from his face as he stared straight ahead, but I paid him no mind, silently munching on my cookie and listening to what could have been passed off as a comedy sitcom back in the kitchen. Eventually he hoped off the counter and made his way to the large refrigerator in the corner housing some of the more delicate goods and a variety of drinks. From the top he plucked a dark colored can and cracked the top, drinking the liquid inside as I went on with my own musings.

"Look at us two loveless bitches. You, my friend, still have an opportunity to fix your relationship. I, on the other hand, have completely and utterly destroyed whatever smidgen of a chance I originally had and danced on its remains." I may have been acting too harsh on myself, but, then again, it was a pretty accurate description of how my breakup went down. "Are you aware of what I'm getting at? Or do I have to paint a more vivid picture?"

"I never pegged you for the lecturing type, Amai," he answered monotonously, throwing back the remainder of whatever was inside the container before throwing it in the aluminum waste can beside the large, insulated box.

"Yeah, well I never pegged my brother as the type to sweat over the small stuff, but the barrage of voicemails on my answering machine says otherwise," I retorted, my phone tucked away in the darkest corner of my cubbyhole. "But anyway, you're right. My bite is worse than my bark anyway, and the 'actions speak louder than words' thing suits me fine." Of course I would know this as a fact since most of the things I did didn't require conversational speaking words. "You should get going now, your lunch break ends soon and I'd _hate_ to impeach your education," I told him taking the meager amount of money he handed over as he scoffed.

"I'll catch ya later, Amai," he said halfheartedly as he walked towards the door, pausing with one foot on the concrete as he turned back and said, "You're a good big sister, so don't anyone tell you otherwise." With that he left, leaving me sitting alone on the countertop and ignoring the feint ding that went off behind me.

"At least I have that going for me since I'm a bad girlfriend."

_DRRR!_

It was nice having someone think I was a good sister, since my own brother was as unappreciative as he always was. Although his recent irritation may have stemmed from having to leave Setsuko-chan alone the past several days at, in his words, "a school full of horny undergrads and pervy teachers", and the fact that he didn't know how to say thank you in a pleasant way. So when he walked into the back kitchen with a sour look on his face while I was busy, I wasn't exactly in the mood for whatever bullshit he was going to say.

"Not in the mood, Carney. So if you have anything to say, say it quickly," I told him, barely glancing at him as I added another large smattering of vanilla frosting to the top of bright pink cake. Absentmindedly I wondered if the seven-year-old boy I was delivering this to would object to such a "girly" color, but considering it was his favored flavor I doubted he cared.

"Please get back together with the bartender," he said, stunning me enough to stop my work and snap my head up to look at him. Was this even real? Polite words from my little brother? That's something I thought I'd never hear.

"Can you repeat that? I don't think I heard you over the shock," I asked him, earning a scowl and a glare from the black-and-red haired boy before me.

"Shut up, Amai. I know you meant well, but you did stupid," he replied, coming to stand on the other side of the long kitchen island and folding his arms against his chest as he stared somewhat hungrily at the dessert in front of me. If he was good, maybe I'd make him one for later, but that all depended on how the next five minutes went.

"You should know all about that," I retorted, smirking at him as he turned his head away and shot daggers at one of the large ovens. Behind me I heard Miss Yuumi snicker good-naturedly, turning Carney's glare on her before it melted into a glower at the sight of her. I knew the feeling; Miss Yuumi gave off a grandmotherly sort of vibe to strangers, and the fact that she had small similarities to Obaa-san often played in her favor. It was easy to imagine how Carney felt when he looked at Miss Yuumi considering how much time he spent getting Obaa-san's attention when we were little and she was still alive.

"I tried being nice, but Amai, you're not being fair to yourself. So screw whoever's using you and do someone who's good for you," Carney commanded in a low, harsh tone, leaning in close so that only I could hear. When he first confronted me about my being used as a tool, I made it clear to him that no one else could know the circumstances leading to my breakup. Rumors run rampant and somehow find their way to certain people afterall.

"I think you mean some_thing_."

"I know what I said," he said flippantly and humorously, snickering to himself as he did so.

"Yeah well, the guy whose thumb I'm unfortunately under won't let me." No words could describe how pathetic and weak I felt simply saying. When was the last time I was forced to hide and adhere to some bastard's wishes? Oh yeah, eight years ago.

"_Fucking shit!_" I shouted, throwing the icing knife I was using across the room and embedding it deep in the wall despite the metal plate being rounded and blunt. Past the wall there was a short cry of surprise followed by a short curse while Carney, ever taciturn, didn't even blink at the sudden display of anger. Behind me Miss Yuumi clicked her tongue disapprovingly, muttering about the "short-tempered audacity" of young people these days. The fact that me putting a hole in her kitchen and earning little more than a scoff and a murmur was just proof of how much I had grown on her in the last few years. But I couldn't focus on this small, stress-relieving fact, not when my brother was acting so out of character that I almost hit him just to make sure he was real.

While I was fuming over a half decorated cake he leant across the countertop and laid a hand on my arm, giving it a small, reassuring squeeze paired with somewhat sympathetic eyes. It was nice of him, but it was also oddly human. I mean, I don't want to be mean, and I know he isn't a monster, but there are very few moments in his lifetime that he had ever been empathetic to someone who wasn't his mother or his girlfriend. I was not one of those people—until now apparently.

"Look, you did your part: you got me out of there. Now let me return the favor."

I shook his hand off my arm before grabbing him and hauling him with me towards the bathroom—the only room in the ground floor where we could have a private conversations without nosy eavesdroppers listening in. "Okay, first of all," I started locking the door behind us and leaning back against it, ensuring that he would have to fight his way out of here, "never act like that again. It's creepy and almost as bad as Colm's and Kichiro's creepy, twin-talking act. Second of all, I didn't get you out of trouble just so you'd owe me. A thank you would be enough you ungrateful bastard!" I told him, my voice harsh but not loud enough to be heard through the door. In retrospect we could have had this conversation in our second tongue while I worked with no one being the wiser, but too late for that now since I was already knee-deep.

"Don't be so naïve, Amai. You did something huge for me, there's no way I can forgive that!" he argued adamantly, balling his fists up against his sides and giving me a harsh glare. As if in his favor I was positioned just right for me to see his angry reflection in the mirror glaring just as hard—though I'd seen enough of his glares to be rendered immune to their effects.

"Just leave well enough alone, Carney. It's my mess so I'll clean it up," I told him with a glare of my own, "Just go home with Setsuko when your visit's over and butt the hell out."

He steamed for a moment, mad that I wasn't letting him have his way like the spoiled brat he sometimes acted like, before he cooled down to glower as he replied in turn, "Let me ask you this: if I was the one being blackmailed by some amoral douche bag, and had the same circumstances as you, would you thank me quietly and live a guilty life? Or would you pitch a fit and even the score so we'd both be happy like I know you would?"

He had me there, that is what I would do. But there was one character flaw of mine that was keeping me from getting what I wanted. "…I feel guilty taking away Shizuo's happiness when he doesn't deserve it," at this his face twitched, itching to comment yet he held his tongue in check and urged me to continue, "I would have felt guilty taking away Setsuko's happiness when she did nothing to warrant it either—"

"You never did like interrupting the happiness of other women, no matter ill-gotten it was," he interjected, commenting on the one flaw of mine I wouldn't let anyone know—so how he knew it was a mystery to me. "So how do you like interrupting your man's happiness for a guy who's an 'ungrateful bastard'?"

"…Do whatever you want, so long as it doesn't land either of us in a deeper pit."

"Aistriúchán: dul go léir amach le aon bhás?" (Translation: go all out with no fatalities?) He smiled, glad that I was seeing things his way while I grimaced and unlocked the door, letting us out into the near-empty kitchen. Did I expect him to actually be able to inflict damage on the slimy son of a bitch? Of course not, that was too unrealistic. Would I tell Carney this? Also no, why ruin the kid's fun with something he wouldn't believe anyway? "So how did you find out who it is?" I asked him, crossing the floor to the icing knife and yanking it out of the wall.

"Oh…you know…we kinda…bugged your phone," he said haltingly as he took long, quick strides towards the door, bolting the second he uttered the last syllable and missing the astonished and outraged cry of hostility as I pieced together the fragmented sentence.

_DRRR!_

Contrary to what people may think, I did have lines I would dare not cross. One of them was eavesdropping for my own amusement, so needless to say I was not happy to find out that my conversations had been spied on by my devious (and bored) little brothers. So here I sat in Misako's apartment, fiddling with my phone as I tried to figure out what the bug looked like and how to get it out.

"Hey Misako, do you know anything about bugs in phones?" I asked her offhandedly as she walked into the apartment, a basket of washed and dried clothes in her arms as she walked by, barely glancing in my direction as she set the load on the couch and began picking one article of clothing up one at a time.

"Bugs as in insects or bugs as in the kind that spy on people?" she asked. I replied the latter and she said in turn, "My mom's ex-boyfriend used to hack into company servers and the like. Why? Are you going to bug someone's phone?" she snorted, laughing at the idea.

"No, my punk brothers bugged my phone. Little creeps, who knows what they've heard," I muttered irritably as I pried out the battery and inspected the interior again. After giving several sounds of frustration she finally sighed in annoyance and set down the pair of pants she was folding.

"Here, let me see," she insisted, holding her hand out as she walked over to me. All too gladly I handed it over, leaving her to sort out the doohickeys from the whatchamacallits. While I waited for her to identify the bug I checked on Gavin—finding that he was still asleep in his crib—before I commented half-heartedly on the contents of her wash basket when I reentered the room.

"Is that Kichiro's laundry?" She nodded distractedly as she fiddled with my phone with a pair of tweezers, concentration etched into the tired lines of her face. "I thought you both agreed that he would stay over here a few times a week?"

"He will!" she replied in a defensive tone, "It's just that raising a baby is a lot of work, and he's busy with his job so we thought it'd be better if he stayed here." It was a reasonable explanation on a subject I shouldn't pry into, but since I was bored and procrastinating I did so anyway.

"Well I'm here now, so he can go back to splitting rent with Colm."

She looked up, alarmed. "But! But it's better for Gavin's development if both his parents are here," she said adamantly, her grip tight around my phone and the tweezers. I smirked, amused, as I leaned against the back of the couch, hand draped back with my fingers picking through the clean smelling fabric.

Poor girl couldn't even admit that she likes Kichiro.

"Whatever you say," I chuckled, holding up a pair of briefs accusatorily before dropping it back into the basket with a scrunched nose. Only someone who liked Kichiro enough would dare approach his dirty clothes just to clean them. Even Mom was apprehensive to wash them—she was all too glad when Colm "volunteered" to do their laundry separately.

Misako pouted, visibly upset that I had caught her in a half-truth. "Who's the cake for?" she asked, trying to change the subject as she pried a small black box and a couple of wires from the back of my phone. She looked pointedly at the white box on the table beside her.

I hesitated, biting my lip as I replied, "That's for a customer I still need to deliver to."

She put my phone back together and asked me accusatorily, "You're stalling?" Now why would she ask me that? Because I was here in the middle of the day with a cake I should have delivered by now and probably should if I wanted to miss a certain someone?

"No, I'm just…busy right now," I explained, looking around the spic-and-span room and glancing at the quiet baby monitor sitting on the end table. That kid cries all night and yet he couldn't do it now? _'Probably tired himself out,'_ I thought bitterly, although I don't know why I was complaining since I'm always gone at night, what with my job and the hour-and-a-half commute to and from the red-light district.

"…Right. So who's it for? A child?" she asked, lifting the lid and snooping at the blue and white cake inside. I crossed over to the table, simultaneously grabbing my fixed phone and slamming the lid back over the box, hiding the cake from any more prying eyes.

"Ah-ah, no touchy. It's for the son of a neighbor."

"Which neighbor?"

"…Shizuo's," I answered quietly, slipping my phone into my pocket and sitting in the chair opposite hers, sliding the cake closer to me and burning holes at the address carefully written on the lid.

"No wonder you're stalling," she snorted, making me glower at the box before I asked her hesitantly—since she was still bitter about the break-up—if she had spoken to him lately. "Yeah, I have. He asked me some advice about the cowardice of the Tachibana's and I gave some to him."

"Not all of us are this evasive, Misako."

"I know; Colm-kun's fine and your parents are a peach. Your younger brothers seem pretty well committed and Patrick is happily married. So I know it's just an isolated gene."

I stayed quiet, bitter that I couldn't come up with a rebuttal. I could bring up Sora, but he gets dumped so often that it wouldn't be a valid point. "What'd you say?" I asked instead, wondering if I should be happy, concerned, or prepared to expect the worse.

"That the next time he sees you he should corner you like a rat and make you talk to him regardless of the method. I suggest delivering that cake now if you're hell-bent on avoiding him. "

It was bitchy advice that really only satisfied her need for karmic retribution, but advice I respected nevertheless. "Well then, I will see you later you passive-aggressive bitch," I sneered, grabbing the cake off the table and walking out the door.

"Same to you too, Heartbreaker."

_DRRR!_

Not that I'd ever tell anyone, but there are a lot of things I am afraid of—I wouldn't be human if I wasn't afraid of something—and unfortunately my (now ex) boyfriend was on the list. Not because of his overbearing strength or his hair-trigger temper, but because I didn't want to cause him unnecessary hurt. That fact was evident in the way I felt the moment I had accidently run into Shizuo—though given that I was at his apartment building making a delivery, in hindsight it was inevitable. While I masked feelings of panic, surprise and a severe need to flee, it was easy to see what the blond bodyguard/bartender in front of me was feeling considering it was etched into his features: intense, unbridled fury and a bittersweet hint of hatred. The hatred should have made me feel better than that utterly heartbreaking note he left me, but it didn't, and the thought that I wanted him to love me with heart break rather than hate me made me sick and despise how selfish that sounded.

The tension was palpable and it made me a little nervous, so I figured I should say something. It was too tense between us so I should…right? "Hi…?" If saying something was right, then that was the wrong thing. Just extremely, monumentally wrong if the wide eyes, brunched brows, and overall furious expression was anything to go by.

"'Hi'? 'Hi'?! I don't see you for the last four days and all you can say is _'HI'?!_" he snarled, stomping over to me from where he had once stood frozen at the top of the stairs. His hand clamped down on my shoulder, solid and crushing, as he shook me once and asked me, "Is that the best you can come up with, or are you trying to piss me off?!"

"Which one gets you to let go of my shoulder?" I asked him, trying, and failing, to ignore the sharp throbbing.

"Neither until you answer me seriously," he replied, ignorant of his tightening grip and the pain he was causing.

Slowly the tips of my fingers turned cold—a combination of the brisk air autumn air around us and the decrease in blood flow. "I could answer you seriously if I had full control of all my limbs," I told him flippantly, flexing the fingers of my left hand to try and spread some warmth. If my fingers stiffened and froze it would be pretty hard to play the violin, and considering how terribly Gavin slept at night, Misako really needed the peaceful atmosphere when she had downtime. Honestly I think my brother was paying me to take care of the both of them rather than just the one while he was gone.

He lightened his grip almost immediately, reflexive, but didn't let go, making sure I stayed where I was. Smart, since if he had let go I would have bolted—whether by stairs or over the railing it didn't matter. "If I let go, you're just going to run, aren't you." It was irritating how well he knew me, because he knew how much of a coward I was.

"Even if I did, you'd just catch me and drag me back here."

He let go, his body rigid as he expected me to do the worse—he even leaned a bit towards the railing like he expected me to jump. I couldn't even begin to argue against that thought since it was my first plan of action. So, with Misako's advice to him in mind, I abandoned all thoughts of escape and focused instead on getting my blood back into my fingertips.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked him, bringing my hand up to my mouth and thawing the pale white tips.

"Misako called me and told me to come here," he growled out, flexing his hands impatiently—like he was trying to refrain from forming a fist.

"What?! That bitch! No wonder her name-calling was so light," I complained before he brought me back to the issue at hand.

"Forget about that. Why did you leave?! Why didn't you stay when you came back?!" He was asking all the right questions and yet they were questions I couldn't answer—mostly because I was trying to wrap my head around what I should be doing and saying and if Izaya was bored enough to actually have me tracked (in which case the troll really needed to get a life).

For now I stuck with my number one fallback: stalling. "You want an explanation. You _deserve_ one…but I can't give you one."

"Why not?!"

'_Because I can't think of a good one,'_ I thought dismally, _'yeah, that ought to go over well.'_ I fidgeted, contemplating once again the chances of breaking my leg from this high up. The barn was higher and there was a stack of hay underneath, and there were cars here I could land on, so the chances of hurting myself were significantly bett—dammit! No more cowardice! "I don't want to hurt you more than I already have."

"_So leaving was your way of letting me down easy?!_" he shouted, his arm shooting towards me and lifting me up into the air by the collar of my jacket. It was funny that he had done this to me so many times that I had come to sort of expect this in one way or another. That being said, I didn't like how abruptly I was shot into the air and how close I was to hitting the top of the ceiling of the outdoor hallway with my head—the red felt of my fedora the only thing between the two—nor how the cake I was holding was now dangling precariously by the strings it was tied with on the tips of my fingers. Good thing I planned ahead.

"_Was it bad?! Did I hurt you?! _**Tell me, Amai!**" he yelled, shaking me back and forth like a careless child with a doll. "You can't break things off without some kind of reason!"

I stayed silent, unable to come up with an answer. No. That's not right. I downright _refused_ to. If I said _anything_ it would be hard to take them back. That's how words worked: they screwed you over if you said the wrong thing. And if I can't choose the right combination, then it's better I say nothing at all. I was practically drowning in apprehension, but the look on my face must have read otherwise with what Shizuo did next—or rather, the expression he showed: sudden realization. He had realized something, and I had an awful feeling about what it could be.

"You're too calm about this."

…Are you fucking kidding me? Any normal person would shit themselves if they saw the amount of fucked up emotions swirling around in my head like a fucking vortex, and this guy says I'm too _calm_?!

"Oh believe me Shizuo, there's never been anything calm about me in my entire life," I snickered half-heartedly, making his eyebrow tick in irritation before he breathed out a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, that's right," he agreed, so even tempered that I couldn't help but stare at him in curiosity as he let me down, retracting his hand from my person as soon as my feet hit the concrete. "You look calm, but you just have a strong handle on your emotions—unlike me." So far I had no idea where he was going with this, but I knew I shouldn't take this as a compliment. "You have that look a lot, and it gets real confusing to tell what you're thinking because it's the same look you have when you're lying about something," he continued through gritted teeth as he straight-out glared daggers at me, a vein in his forehead throbbing.

Oh, I definitely did _not_ like where this was going.

"What are you trying to say, Shizuo?" I asked him cautiously, eyeing him warily as he once again balled his hands up into fists.

"You had that same look on your face when I told you I loved you, and when you said it back. So either you were hiding what you were feeling, or you were lying to me."

Assumptions. He was making up assumptions because I refused to talk! Well now I knew what staying silent got me: no way to deny falsehoods. I had to say something, something to get rid of the absurdities of what he was saying. "Why would I sleep with you if I didn't love you?" I asked, hoping to instill some doubt about his theories.

"Why would you not if you did?" he replied bitterly, his reference to the night of the red-eyed bitch and her demented cohorts irking me to some level before I centered on the fact of my own fears and insecurities that led to being mentally unable to prove my love to him.

"I…I…that—I mean—" I stammered incoherently, trying to come up with an answer that both quelled his suspicions and saved me from having to tell him something that should just simply remain a night terror and a bad memory.

"Save it," he interjected coldly, his balloon of anger figuratively deflating as he looked down at me with contempt. Contempt. He held _contempt_ for me. Is this what I meant to him now? That I was someone he had to _tolerate_?! "You're a compulsive liar, and anything you say doesn't have an ounce of truth in it. Don't come around here anymore. Tachibana-san."

With that single command he left, turned around and walked away and left me all by myself standing in front of his neighbor's door. He was right, I had the tendency to control the emotions on my face—if I didn't I would have lost a lot more money in poker—but that didn't extend to how I felt. No, there was only way to control how I felt and that was a technique I had stolen from an old book. That being said, that technique couldn't keep away the feeling of devastation that filled my chest and my head.


End file.
